Rescue Run
by Lady Rheena
Summary: For centuries the two civilisations had forgotten about each other, evolved and expanded, fought and survived in isolation. Until the day when a chance accident sent an unexpected visitor back to Old Earth, and to survive Zion must go orbital. COMPLETE.
1. Impact

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: This opener may appear to have little to do with _The Matrix_. Be warned that if leather suits and gun-toting are your thing, this fic is set entirely in the real world of Zion and the machine-ravaged Earth.**

_Part 1- Impact_

Starlight glinted off the tertiary navigation display, then abruptly was blacked out by the shadowy hulk of Terra Luna as the hopper craft _Mariposa_ banked. For Captain Dena Reese, the phenomenon was expected and familiar enough to present no distraction, but what _did_ draw her eye was the blackened excuse for a planet that lay to the starboard side of her ship. A shiver ran involuntarily down her spine at the sight of it, and she experienced a fleeting wish that she'd taken up the _Gormenghast_'s offer of a rookie for company in the spare rear seat. But just as quickly the sensation vanished- a rookie would slow her up, ask too many questions and above all piss her off when the survey cruise ought to be a chance to get a job done and chill out at the same time. Oh, as brilliant a tactician, pilot and officer as she was, if there was one thing she _hated_ it was having to shepherd rookies. Of course, now she'd finally managed to wrangle a permanent starside placement she didn't have to worry about the compulsory part, which was nice. That only left the constant asking, begging and pleading instead…

Noting a red light on the second power intake valve in the main engines, she frowned and brought the display to her main screen. Equipment glitch. Muttering a brief curse against inept deck crews, she shut the problem valve down. It wasn't any great difficulty to manage a ship on three rather than four. Dismissing the engine display, she resumed her survey scan for Terra Luna. The Prospector IV wasn't due for another good six months, and so Fleet was taking every opportunity to eyeball the moon, being finicky about landing co ordinates and the like. Of course the last three Prospector missions had found everything of bugger all on the derelict satellite, but the IV carried state of the art probe and drill equipment, primarily for possible mineral exploitation. Not that much of anything was in short supply in the Coalition these days, but that was partly because the various prospecting sectors kept the search up for new raw materials on every hunk of rock in the solar system- well, every hunk of rock except _that_ one, she thought, eyeing the planet again. But then you'd have to be suicidal to send even a robotic probe down there, not to mention stupid. All Terra had to offer now was blasted ground, blackened sky and one helluva lot of miserable history. No _thank you_.

The scans finished, she flipped the _Mari_ around to begin the cruise back to Phobos base and the waiting _Gormenghast_. The mammoth carrier, her home from home, was due to begin a final set of checkups, drills and supply runs in preparation for its colonisation mission at Procyon, some eleven light years away. The biggest problem, of course, was finding colonists whom the Powers that Be considered 'suitable material' to accompany the military personnel, but as a section captain Dena didn't have to worry about _that_, Maker be praised.

At that moment an alarm went off. Starting in surprise, she quickly brought the display up only to discover that she'd lost another intake valve on the engines. Now her only option was a skid off the Earth's remaining atmosphere and hope of a cruise back to Phobos. Quickly opening a com channel to the base, she fed power through the signal boosters.

'Phobos base, this is the _Mariposa_. Two intake valves are offline and engine power is at-' a brief check made her wince '-thirty percent of normal. Will attempt a skip off Earth's atmosphere and cruise to base. Require immediate assistance; repeat, require immediate assistance.' Setting the call to a repeat transmission, she began feeding computations into the nav computer. An atmospheric skip was a dangerous manoeuvre at the best of times, but on only thirty percent power it was nigh on bloody suicidal.

'Come _on_, Dizzi. You've done this before.' Dena became aware that she was sweating and muttered a curse before finalising the navigation settings. Taking a deep breath, she pointed the _Mari_'s nose square at Terra firma and hit the button.

Being such a seasoned pilot, she knew the moment the burn initiated that she'd computed correctly and the manoeuvre would work. Holding the burn for maximum feed, she prepared to fire the secondary thrusters to initiate the skipping action- but just then another alarm went off and this time the reading flashed onto her main screen automatically.

'_Shit_!'

Before she could do anything about it the third intake valve had shut down, leaving her with all of six percent power normal. The thrusters died and gravity took her before she had time to react, engage the auxiliaries, do _anything_ to slow that inexorable fall downwards. The inky black of space gave way to piercing blue that made her eyes ache, and she caught only a brief glimpse of a layer of solid dark cloud before the _Mari_ was in it. Buffeted by unknown wind currents and loud cackles of electrostatic energy from Maker knew what, Dena battled to level out the flight of the little hopper craft. Finally the cloud layer vanished to reveal a sooty landscape of twisted grey and black- but in the distance, about twenty klicks, three massive pylons glowed with a dull red light. For some reason she couldn't fathom Dena aimed the _Mari_ at them, feeling the temperature in the cabin plummet as the power drain took its toll on the environmental systems. As the tiny ship hurtled crazily towards the pylons she caught sight of moving objects- gargantuan cylinders with a myriad of sinuous, tentacle-like limbs reaching down, plucking…_something_ from the ground below. Some instinct provoked her to wrench the controls sideways, and without warning the _Mari_ plummeted groundwards to skid a good half a kilometre along the jagged terrain before sliding to a slow stop against what looked very much like Dena to the remains of some kind of radio pylon.

That was when she blacked out.


	2. Tunnels

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: Doubtless my estimate of how many kilometres one can travel in a day, even abseiling continuously almost straight downwards, is way off. Put it down to Dena's Fleet gizmos. And since no data is given about how far down Zion is, well, let's just call it poetic licence, shall we?**

_Part 2- Tunnels_

The low, insistent blare of the alarm wakened Dena some two hours later by her portable chronometer. Shaking herself to, she blinked her eyes open, wiped the mingled dampness of blood and sweat from her forehead and struggled up, unstrapping herself from the chair. It was the work of moments to shut down the main engines- what was left of them- and assess the rest of the damage. It took slightly longer for her to fully realise the extent of her situation. She was alone, without a ship, smack bang on old Terra with goodness knew what else, and above all less than about five klicks away from those glowing towers and mysterious picking _things_. Abandoning the cockpit with its now dead readouts, she moved into the rear of the ship and found the medkit, injecting herself with the most powerful stimulant she could find and then attaching an all-purpose portable scanner to her wrist in order to better assess her surroundings. By hooking itself automatically into what was left of the _Mariposa_'s scanning equipment, the scanner detected five high energy readings moving towards her fast, but no signs of life whatsoever. A chill ran through Dena as her school and Academy history lessons floated back to her, and it took all her training not to break into an outright hysterical panic. Firmly summoning the focus of Fleet discipline, she opened one of the storage lockers and pulled out a survival pack, then added a few other items from the weapons rack including some EMP flash grenades. After a moment's thought she turned to the other locker, strapped on two hip holsters and put a lasgun in each one along with a full complement of charge cells. The communications equipment on the _Mari_ was both trashed from the landing and fried by passage through that screwed-up cloud layer, so there was no point in taking the transponder plate with her, but she did pause by the hatch and lay a hand on the hull name plate, absently reading the inscription; _LHS Mariposa Built Phobos Orbital Shipyard Launched September 18th 2956_. The _Mari_ had been a good little ship. Dena had flown in her at least a dozen times before, and she didn't think the hopper deserved such an ignoble death as this one.

'Sorry old girl,' she muttered, and privately swore to hunt down and rip to shreds the deck crew that had let the ship take off with three faulty power intake valves. Then, pushing aside sentimentality, she popped the back hatch and climbed out.

The air tasted acrid and had a sharp metallic tang to it that made her throat dry out quickly. Grimacing, Dena glanced in the direction of those fast-approaching energy readings and squinted enough to make out five long, gleaming objects arrowed straight for her current position. She clambered quickly away from the _Mari_ over the twisted ground, almost turning her ankle more than once, and found a crevice to hide in. There, she took one of the scan-scattering beacons from her pack and activated it, strapping it firmly onto her belt. The tiny device would disperse the heat emanating from her body, automatically recalibrating the level as she moved so that, to sensors if not the naked eye, she appeared to be just another part of the scenery. Holding motionless, she let one hand rest on the gun in her right hip holster, one eye on the scanner and one on the wreck of the _Mari_. Only when the energy signatures were right on top of her did she flatten herself to the ground and actually draw the pistol, aiming just in front of her own nose.

Her aim wavered when she caught sight of the- the _things_ crawling over the _Mari_. They were like old Terran squids, all waving appendages and tentacles, moving like predators in anticipation of a kill. But at the same time the waving limbs on the underside reminded her more of an insectoid, as did the clicks and clacks they made. One of them turned, the multiple red 'eyes' on the head piece making her freeze to the spot, rooted in terror, but the myriad of sensor scopes and radar dishes that emerged from the head- CPU, she forcefully corrected herself- turned away from her position quickly. A few more click-clacks and the entire entourage moved off. The _Mari_ was obviously of no interest to them without her pilot. However Dena waited a good few minutes until her nerves had recovered and the scanner showed those squid things to be a good twenty klicks gone. When she finally emerged from her hiding place she was trembling all over.

So the AI machine race was still alive, if that was the term to use, and apparently dominant on the planet. And there the PTB had thought Terra to be a barren wasteland of big ol' nothing. With shaking fingers Dena consulted her scanner again, shivering slightly despite the thermal adaptive jumpsuit she was wearing. Scans showed that the temperature increased to more tolerable levels below ground, and there were plenty of access points to the apparent network of tunnels under the surface. They seemed to extend for hundreds, perhaps thousands of kilometres underground. Old service and way systems perhaps, from those long bombed-out cities that had once dominated the now ashen landscape.

Hefting the carisac onto two shoulders and fastening the chest strap, Dena took a deep breath and started towards the nearest of the underground access points.

It was nearly three days of steady downward progress later when physical exhaustion finally prompted her to stop and properly assess her situation. Immediately she was furious with herself. Here she was, a trained Fleet officer, a _captain_ no less, and she'd panicked and jumped down a hole the minute she was faced with anything out of the ordinary. She'd been going hard for seventy two hours almost non-stop, without so much as a bite of a ration bar, barely the occasional sip of a rehydration fluid, and this while carbon-lining down rock faces and possibly being pursued by Maker knew what unholies. It was the work of moments to locate a relatively secure nook in the endless klicks of piping and conduits, whereupon she extracted the medkit from her carisac and injected herself with a quick-release stimulant, followed by a standard anti-shock treatment. Letting her head fall back against the cold steel that formed the wall of her impromptu shelter, she took several deep breaths. Next was a full ration bar, and an entire pipe of rehydration fluid. She consulted her scanner again and had to check that it wasn't malfunctioning.

She'd lined down more than one steep rock face with the retractable carbon rope line on her belt, but she hadn't suspected she'd covered anything _like_ the distance she had. In three days she was more than two _hundred_ klicks below surface level. With something like detached amusement, she realised she'd gone into what the psyche teams liked to call Default Survival Mode. No com unit, no means to scrounge one together, no chance of contact or rescue since she would be presumed dead the minute the _Mari_'s ill-fated final flight trajectory was traced, and yet she'd automatically taken the measures necessary to preserve her own life for as long as possible by leaving the surface and the vulnerable crash site. She'd have possibly been better off announcing her presence to the squid things and asking if she could borrow a comline, pretty please? Hideous as they were, those machines were undoubtedly the remnants of the AI civilisation- or whatever one would call it- and in the thousand-odd years since any human had set foot on Terra they might have found her an interesting enough oddity not to just blow to atoms. Maybe.

On the other hand, maybe machines were _real_ good at holding grudges. Sighing, Dena adjusted her position slightly and, setting the scanner to an audio alert if it detected any energy signatures coming her way, let her eyes slide closed as the stimulant, designed to provide an energy boost for a very limited time only, wore off. The heebie-jeebies, however (as Commander Pryce might have called her innate nervousness in the bizarre environment), let her sleep for only a few hours. After that she kept a firm grip on mind and body, travelling in short bursts and with greater attention to her surroundings. Abseiling down another three seemingly bottomless vertical shafts soon brought her to a depth of nearly six hundred klicks. And it had only turned out to be point two of a bloody degree warmer, too.

It was on the sixth day that she noticed an energy blip making its way rather ponderously- compared to those squids, anyway, although the thing still packed a couple of hundred kph- along one of the tunnels adjoining her current passage. Zoning the scan in as best she could with the limited range on the portable, she noted the difference in the energy signature being given off. A different brand of machine, maybe? Plucking up what remained of her courage, she took the next narrow side alcove which led into the next major tunnel and again consulted the scanner. Now this bogey was coming almost straight for her. But without a rock wall and a ton of metallic debris in the way the scanner was now telling her something else- something that made her heart skip a beat. _Bio signs_. Yep, all there. Thermals, bio-energy signatures, kinetic activity, the works. But of who- or what? Surely, _surely_ it couldn't be humans. After all this time? How had any survived in this freakish Hades?

'Organic,' she muttered to herself. 'That's good enough for me.'

And with that, she deactivated her scattering beacon. After a moment's more thought, she recalibrated it to send out a small localised homing signal, which took less of _her_ energy than the traditional arm waving or perhaps a hitchhiker's thumb. By now her bio-carrier was in sight; it was maybe a hundred metres long, covered in energy pads which apparently made it some kind of hovercraft, and identified by a cackle of bluish energy that made the walls vibrate just before and after its passage. As it drew closer she could have sworn she saw a transparent cockpit and even a figure moving about in it. A humanoid figure.

Abandoning all propriety, she lifted her arms and waved them in the air, shouting. '_Hey_! _Hey you_!'

Incredibly, the ship- as she decided to identify it- slowed down. Even more incredibly, just before her it started to lower down to the ground, landing feet extended and then the thing settled to the uneven floor with a creak and groan of mild protest. A ramp came down and two figures descended, both carrying flashlights and some kind of heavy firearm. But, and Dena felt tears of relief spring to her eyes at the realisation, they were beyond all shadow of a doubt human figures. Both were men; one stocky and chocolate skinned, the other lean and pale with a shock of jet black hair. The flashlights shone in her eyes and she battled with the overwhelming sensation of joy at knowing she was not the only living thing on the Maker forsaken planet to keep her thoughts coherent. It had been well over a millennia. Would they even know what she was _saying_ to them?

Raising her hands and hoping _that_ so-called universal sign hadn't been lost in the mists of time, she came slowly towards them, trying not to squint in the glare. The guns dropped slightly from a firing position but remained cautiously raised.

'Holy shit,' the pale-skinned man muttered, quite distinctly.

'He- hello?' she tried. 'Do you understand what I'm saying?'

'What the-' he began again, but was cut off by the other man, whom Dena guessed was senior in some way. He looked older, and carried himself like one who bore responsibility, or even a command.

'We understand you. Do you understand _us_?'

'Yes, yes I do.' Chancing another step, she took a deep breath. 'I'm Captain Dena Reese of the haulier supership _Gormenghast_. I crashed here- well, on the surface actually- and I came down here to try and avoid those- those squid machine things.' That sounded inadequate, but she couldn't think what else to say. 'I don't plan to attack you, you know.'

The guns dropped completely, but neither man offered an apology. The dark skinned one gestured up the ramp.

'Come. Quickly. This is not a secure spot to set down for long.'

Interpreting that as an invitation to follow them back inside, Dena quickly took it. Inside was brightly lit although not much prettier than the exterior. Exposed pipes, circuitry and exhaust conduits abounded, and she kept a careful eye on her feet to avoid an untimely trip over some piece of hardware.

'Tell Link to get us moving,' the dark-skinned man said. His companion nodded and walked past Dena to a ladder, stowing gun and flashlight in a locker beside it. He gave her one last look of sheer intrigue before starting for the upper deck, so she returned her attention to the other man as he replaced his own light and weapon in another locker. His clothing was rough; apparently homespun from something or other, yet it looked like it had been a hand-me-down for the past five or six generations. His head was completely hairless and smooth as a boiled egg, yet once again she felt an unmistakeable air of authority about him as well as complete ease in his current surroundings. It was an impression she recognised as sometimes giving out herself, and drew a not inaccurate conclusion as a result.

'This your ship?'

He nodded neutrally.

'The _Nebuchadnezzar_. My name is Morpheus.'

Before he could get any further, she threw him a crisp Fleet salute, which prompted a rather shocked look.

'Then I formally request permission to come aboard, Captain Morpheus.'

The shock faded and a hint of a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

'Permission granted…_captain_.' He motioned to the ladder and she obediently began to climb, hearing him not a few rungs behind her. 'I have never heard of any ship called the _Gormenghast_. And certainly not a…haulier supership, as you labelled her.'

At the top of the ladder Dena turned in the direction he indicated, pausing only to take note of the name plate engraved on a bulkhead. _Nebuchadnezzar_, _United States, 2069_. By golly but she was ancient.

'That doesn't surprise me,' she said. 'You know we thought this entire planet was a graveyard. Are there many more of you?'

When she glanced back he had halted mid-stride and was staring at her with mixed wariness and disbelief on his face. Cursing inwardly, she dropped her eyes in apology.

'Sorry. Too fast. But this is complicated, and it could take a while.'

He impressed her by keeping his voice remarkably level and mild in tone.

'By _many_ I assume you are referring to the human population of the Earth. In that case I would estimate it to be in the billions, perhaps more.'

'_Billions_?' Now it was her turn to gawk in shock. 'How in hell does a population of _billions_ just disappear into the woodwork with nary a soul in sight on the surface?'

'That is also complicated.' His dark eyes bored into her but she looked right back at him. His gaze abruptly flicked over her shoulder and he spoke again, in a firmer tone. 'Trinity, I need you to run a test for VDTs on this woman.' To Dena he added, 'Your pack?'

'If you don't mind, I'd rather hang onto it,' she said, testing the water. He hesitated for a moment, than gave a small nod. She returned it and then turned to find a skinny young woman with very obvious collarbones and a hawklike stare regarding her.

'Well, lead the way.'


	3. The Nebuchadnezzar

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: _Rescue Run_ is set post-_Matrix_, pre _Reloaded_. Needless to say alternative universe. Hence Neo's in full-fledged One mode, but the _Neb_ is lacking most of its original crew. PS- _does_ anyone know what the heck VDTs ARE? If you do, I'd appreciate an email. Oh, and any Trekkies who spot the direct line steal here (apologies to Bill Shatner) can give themselves a pat on the back and a free cookie.**

_Part 3­- The Nebuchadnezzar_

What passed for an infirmary aboard the _Nebuchadnezzar_ was along a little way and down another ladder. The test involved only a brief neural scan, and while the woman called Trinity scrutinised the results on a small LCD screen Dena tried to probe for information, anything that might give her some foothold with these people.

'What is VDTs anyway?'

'Something you don't want.' Trinity frowned. 'And you haven't got. The test's negative.' Piercing blue eyes travelled quickly over Dena's entire frame before resting on her face. 'Who are you?'

'Dena Reese.' Sticking out a hand, Dena was relieved to see that method of introduction hadn't vanished as she was rewarded with a brief shake from a limb that was cold and far too bony. 'Squad captain, _Desperadoes_, HSS _Gormenghast_. You?'

'My name is Trinity. What's-' then she stopped and blinked. 'Your boots look new.'

A trifle nonplussed by this abrupt change of tack, Dena glanced down at her footwear, then at Trinity's which appeared to be another half a dozen generations hand-me-down affair.

'They're a couple of years old. Any newer and I'd still have a limp. These service issue are bastards to break in, and I swear it's your feet that change shape to fit them, not the other way around.'

'And your clothes. They're…different.' Trinity half-reached out, then stopped herself. Dena felt a smile that was too patronising reach her face and modified it to friendly before stripping off her overjacket and holding it out. The other woman fingered the material in scarcely concealed wonder before handing it back.

'Service issue. They go in big for black. Camouflage, maybe, for spacesiders.'

'Space…' Trinity echoed in a whisper. 'You're- you're not from here are you?' Her gaze settled on Dena's face again with something akin to sheer awe. However anything further was cut off by a low clanking sound and a cessation of motion, followed by the arrival of Morpheus in the doorway.

'Trinity?'

She immediately turned businesslike.

'The tests came up negative. But she's…'

'What?'

'She's _healthy_. Like- like no one I've ever seen. Morpheus-' she stopped at his look.

'Come,' he said to Dena. 'I believe we have talking to do.'

In the mess room they were joined by the black-haired man, whom Morpheus introduced as Neo, and another chocolate-skinned, broad-shouldered man named Link who had the most impressive set of dreadlocks Dena had seen in a long while. Neo immediately took up a poise sitting beside Trinity that was best interpreted as _protective_, leading her to another conclusion. Link poured out cups of metal-tainted water from a distiller built into the wall and then sat on the other side of Neo. Morpheus sat at the head of the table so Dena put herself opposite the others, trying not to be unsettled by their wary gazes. Neo in particular had a certain edge to his stare that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She took a sip from the cup Link had passed to her and looked at Morpheus.

'You first,' he said simply.

'Okay.' Perhaps, she mused, the best thing to do was to lay all her cards on the table. 'I'm captain of a fighter squadron aboard the HSS _Gormenghast_ currently docked at Phobos orbital base. I was running a preliminary scan sweep of Terra Luna in the hopper ship _Mariposa_ in preparation for the fourth mission scheduled to take off six months from now to prospect for minerals or other useable resources on Earth's moon. On the return run I lost functionality on two of the four power intake valves on the main engines. I tried to run a skipping stone manoeuvre off the Earth's atmosphere but lost a third valve and ended up crash landing on the surface. I got a close up view of some squid machines, whatever you call 'em here, and started to head underground to avoid another encounter. I've been here for about six days by my reckoning.' Putting the cup down, she folded her arms and looked Morpheus squarely in the eye. 'Your turn, Captain.'

'Hey, hang on a second,' Neo interjected, sitting up. 'Questions first, right?'

'Yeah, like what in the hell is Phobos?' Link added.

'Second Martian moon,' Dena said, taken aback.

'Martian?' Neo echoed. His voice turned mocking. 'So you're from Mars, huh?'

'I was born on Ganymede,' she replied in a similar vein. 'I just work from Mars.'

Her blithe tone made his smile vanish.

'You are _human_, right?'

'As human as you, from what I can gather.'

'Are you saying you're from _outer space_?' Link exclaimed. 'Like, you know, an _astronaut_?'

Unable to help smile at his use of the antiquated term, Dena nodded.

'You could say that. Technically I'm a grade one combat pilot, certified to drive anything space going that has engines and or thrusters, along with virtually every atmospheric plane there is. But mostly I work spaceside. I find too much time on planet and I get claustro.'

'She's telling the truth,' Neo suddenly announced, glancing at Morpheus. That something about him that had been bothering her hit Dena like a smack on the face. _Psi_. In Terran produce? Well, why not?

'Hell, no one can make up a story like _that_, even if you've completely lost your mind,' Link said. He stared at Dena for a moment more and then broke into an incredulous grin, shaking his head. 'I'll be damned. Just wait till they hear this back home!'

'Don't you people have any records at all of the Martian colonies?' Dena asked.

'We have very limited records of any kind,' Morpheus informed her. 'We're not even sure what year it is.'

'3422,' she responded promptly. 'Standardised dating system, that is. Don't ask me to convert to planetary scales, I haven't done that since high school.'

'Holy shit,' Trinity muttered. Then she too broke into an amazed smile. 'How? How can there be humans on other planets?'

'The process of Martian terraforming began in the early 2050s,' Dena said, dredging up her history classes. 'There were several fully self-sufficient domed colonies- that is, colonies living in airlocked domes, sci-fi style- and by the mid 2100s you could walk about on Mars without even a facial breather. Ganymede and Callisto followed, then the other Jovian moons, the gas mining platforms on Jupiter and Saturn…I'm really freaking you guys out, aren't I?'

'In all this time, nobody thought to come down here and look for anyone?' Neo asked.

'Do the words devastating global war mean anything to you? Opaque pollutant cloud layer? Repeated massive thermonuclear detonations?' Dena leaned forwards slightly towards him. 'Everyone on the colonies thought life on Earth was _extinct_. Old spacers tell stories about the planet-wide graveyard of humanity's greatest folly. I remember in the Academy my whole class got spooked by the one about the ghosts of old soldiers and machines that snare anyone who flies too close to the outer ionosphere.' She shook her head. 'I don't know how you people survived…'

It was at that point Morpheus began to talk. He had a quietly enthralling voice and Dena found herself hanging on his every word- in fact he rather reminded her of her old Ops instructor at the Academy, who had the same ability to hold a room full of people on tenterhooks with attention. But the story was as far from the operations procedures and protocols as Mercury was from Pleiades. He was very thorough, very precise and certainly minced no words. When he finally stopped it was all she could do to keep breathing.

'It sucks, doesn't it?' Neo broke the silence by saying.

'And it's been a helluva lot more'n a hundred years,' Link added. 'Think someone screwed up their math somewhere along the line.'

'Yeah,' Dena managed, dazed. 'Someone sure did.'

There was a long, pained pause. Morpheus ended it by standing.

'Link, plot a course to Zion. I want us there as fast as humanly possible.'

'Aye sir.' Link rose and gripped Dena's shoulder briefly as he went out. The gesture touched her and she summoned the courage to look up.

'I suggest you get some rest,' Morpheus said to her, not unkindly. 'I doubt you'll get much of a chance for any once Commander Lock hears about you.'

'Deadbolt's interrogation, huh?' Neo said, flashing Dena a boyish grin. She decided that if he did possess any psi rating then he- perhaps the entire Terran population- was unaware of it. But there was definitely something there, or she was an asteroid's aunty.

'I'll show you a cabin you can use,' Trinity said, also rising. 'We've got spares.'

'What happened to the rest of your crew?' Dena dared to ask. 'This is a big ship. You seem understaffed.'

'That's…a long story. It can wait.' By now they were next to a heavy door that opened via a hard twist of an ancient motorized locking mechanism. 'Here. Get some sleep. You look like you need it.'

'Thanks.' Dena stepped inside, paused and looked back. 'Trinity.'

'Yes?'

'Neo is…different, isn't he? I'm probably asking the wrong person-' and she had the satisfaction of seeing a small blush colour the other woman's cheeks '-but there's something about his eyes. Am I right?'

'He _is_ different,' Trinity agreed, lowering her eyes. 'He is the One.'

'The one what?'

'_The_ One. I'll explain later. You should rest.' Then she turned away and was gone before Dena could think of anything else to say to her.


	4. Zion

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: This chapter bubbled out before I could help it. Commander Lock is fun to write. I've also tried to make him seem a bit less of a git than he ended up in the movies- this'll become more obvious later.**

_Part 4- __Zion___

In the end, over the three day journey downwards into the tunnels towards this Zion place, it was Link who filled Dena in on the finer details. Since there wasn't a lot she could do in the main ship and she hated being a spare part, she took to sitting in the co-pilot's chair in the cockpit with him and after a few solid hours of discreetly observing his hands at work on the controls she decided she could probably pilot the _Nebuchadnezzar _as ably as any other surface craft she'd flown. However from Link she also learned about the legend of the One, admittedly with a rather biased prospective since it was clear the dark-skinned native thought the world of both Morpheus and Neo, and a good deal more about the workings of the apparently inescapable Matrix. In fact, if she was being honest with herself, she learned a lot more from Link's amiable nattering than she had from Morpheus' solemn monologue, and most of it more useful. He was perfectly agreeable to answering questions about anything and everything she cared to ask, and gradually she managed to build up a perspective of the civilisation of humans based around Zion that would have had an anthropologist drooling at the jowls. Link also elaborated considerably on the situation surrounding Morpheus, Neo and Trinity. By the time he had finished _that_ particular tale Dena was outright positive that Neo had psi capability, and quite a powerful rating at that. She wasn't sure exactly what that certainty could do for her given the situation, but it at least meant that there had been none of the theorised 'evolutionary branching' that modern science considered as possible if entire worlds of the Coalition were to lose contact with each other for prolonged periods of time.

Just culture shock, which was universal, she thought without humour.

'You know Zee ain't gonna believe this when I tell her,' Link said after a brief discussion about the function of the Council in the government of Zion. He'd mentioned this elusive Zee person several times, and Dena guessed that she was the proverbial girl at home whose primary function in life appeared to be to disbelieve most of what Link told her about pretty much everything.

'She's a sceptic, then?'

'Not as such. She's into all these lucky charms and stuff- I don't get that, not at all- but she doesn't believe in the One. Thinks Morpheus is crazy,' he added in a conspiratorial whisper.

'I get the impression she's not alone in that idea.'

'Yeah, that's true. Like old Deadbolt- Lock, I mean, the Commander- he's got a _real_ problem with Morpheus and the Oracle and all that stuff. Me, I go on what I find. And what I've seen Neo do in the Matrix…well, if Lock had seen what I'd seen, I think we might even make a believer out of him.'

Dena briefly debated dropping the bombshell but decided against it. From what she could gather of this Lock character, or Deadbolt as he seemed to be known (and not with affection, she could tell), he seemed more of the military man she was accustomed to- pragmatism, perfectionism and persistence, according to Commander Pryce, were the three essential Ps of a good commanding officer. That made her smile and Link gave her a curious look.

'What's funny?'

'Nothing. Just thinking of _my_ commanding officer.'

'Oh yeah? What's he like?'

'Actually Lock sounds a lot like him. Typical commander. We- the lower ranks, that is- call him Wingeye.'

'Wingeye, huh? Why's that?'

'He used to be a fighter pilot, like me. You get to command different ways, in Fleet. Some work up on ground installations- although they don't usually end up on a supership haulier, to be fair- some come through mechanics or engineering, some through marines, but he came through the best way.'

'Yeah, I bet a marine, a mechanic and a ground guy'd all tell that different,' Link said with a grin. 'Like that in Dock- you'll see when we get there. The infantry go tearing about how all the ship crews know how to do is bounce around in the Matrix, the ship crews bitch about the infantry being foot-based losers, the mech crews complain about people not taking care of equipment and _everyone_ hates the APU corps cos they have this habit of trampling all over everyone's toes even when they're not _in_ the damn walkers.' He sighed. 'But in a pinch, we all pull together. We got to, to survive.' Breaking into another disarming grin, he winked at her. 'Mind you, between you and me, it's got to be a pretty darn huge pinch, know what I'm saying?'

That _did_ make her laugh, but his attention was drawn to the scope display instead of another reply. Tapping commands into the keypad set between the control joysticks he slowed the ship down to a crawl of what Dena judged to be around 40kph, then pulled a headset from his pocket and fixed it over one ear, adjusting it with the ease of great familiarity so that the mic rested just below his chin.

'Sir, we're coming up to gate three.'

'Acknowledged,' came Morpheus' reply via the main ship intercom.

'He'll feed through the access codes now,' Link explained to Dena. 'Without those the gates don't open, and we get blown apart to boot.'

'Let's hope he remembers them properly.'

'Now I ain't _never_ heard of that happening!' Abruptly he turned businesslike. 'Zion control, this is the _Nebuchadnezzar_ approaching dock gate three.'

Dena settled back in the chair as he went through the procedures- and there were fixed procedures here, she could easily see. Link's informal, easygoing manner was gone, replaced with cool efficiency as he entered commands into the navigation systems, responding to instructions given by whoever was on the other end of that com line. Finally it was done and they passed in through two gargantuan steel gates while an APU- a ground unit that Dena was perfectly familiar with from her own forces- pointed both barrels at the tunnel beyond in case of pursuit. Of course there was none and the gate began to slowly close before the _Nebuchadnezzar_'s tail had quite cleared it. Dena was surprised by the dock area- it wasn't as big as even Phobos orbital, but far more sophisticated than she'd expected. The people of Zion, it seemed, had become experts at recycling and salvaging existing components. And there were a _lot_ of docks, too. She took a brief count and realised that if in fact the assumption of one dock per available ship was made, that put the Zion fleet at well over one hundred a fifty ships- again, more than she thought. She really ought to stop underestimating these people.

'Welcome to Zion,' Link said to her with a wide grin.

'It's big,' was all she could say.

'Don't sound so surprised!'

Once the _Neb_ was settled on her pad and technicians had come running across with power feed lines, diagnostic cables and all the other paraphernalia usually attached to a docked ship, Dena hefted her carisac and followed Trinity down the ramp. Neo and Link walked a little in front, flanking Morpheus with an air that struck her as almost protective. Strange, that a crew should feel the need to _protect_ their captain in home dock…

Immediately they set foot on the concrete flooring a loud shout came from the other side of the walkway beyond and a grey-clad figure came scurrying towards them. Neo groaned but the others seemed to find it amusing.

'That's the Kid,' Trinity said to Dena in an undertone. 'The problem with the life you save…'

'It keeps coming back to haunt you?' Dena grinned at her. 'Hero worship.'

'Exactly.'

The Kid, which seemed to be his only real designation, skidded to a halt. He didn't look more than fifteen, maybe a _young_ sixteen, but he was a typical bouncing, overeager teenager at that. Dena tried not to notice the dark metal plugs in his arms or the thicker socket at the base of his skull which stood out shockingly against his pale skin and glinted in the light.

'Hey Morpheus, Link- it's good to have you back. Hi Neo!' This last was with such blatant over-enthusiasm that Dena had to bite her lip to hide a smile, although she noticed Trinity doing the same thing.

'Hey Kid,' Neo said neutrally.

'Can I-'

'Is Captain Mifune around?' Morpheus asked, cutting off whatever overhelpful offer the lad was about to make.

'Yeah, Morpheus, I think I seen him. You want him? I'll get him!' The Kid was off again before anyone could contradict his plan.

'You'd think he'd have something _better_ to do…' Neo muttered.

'I think he has his uses,' Morpheus observed dryly as they watched the boy come storming out of the central control building with a rather harried-looking figure in tow. This turned about to be another russet-skinned captain- Mifune, who commanded the APU corps, as Dena later learned. He gave a world-weary sigh when he saw who he had been summoned by.

'Captain Morpheus, what can I do for you?'

Morpheus handed Link his own rough shoulder bag and stepped forwards, motioning to Dena to follow him. She did so, but kept a firm grip on her carisac.

'I need to speak with Commander Lock immediately.'

'Well why in hell do you need-' but then Dena caught Mifune's eye. He stopped midsentence and stared at her, noting the quality of her clothing, the lean muscle on her frame unmoderated by the vaguely consumptive look that most of the denizens of Terra appeared to carry. 'Who the heck is this, Morpheus?'

'The reason I need to speak with the commander,' Morpheus said calmly. 'As quickly and…quietly as possible.'

Mifune nodded.

'That I can do.' He glanced back at the Kid. 'You, scram. And not a word of this, or a sentinel's going to seem like a pleasant alternative to me when I'm pissed off.'

Morpheus glanced back at his crew.

'Link, get the ship recharged and begin those repairs we've been putting off. All of you, get some rest.'

'Yes _sir_.' The trio exchanged glances and moved off, the Kid hovering around Neo like an errant mayfly and apparently buzzing just as much.

'So, who are you?' Mifune asked, this time addressing Dena directly.

'Captain Dena Reese, pilot first grade, attached to HSS _Gormenghast_ under Commander Wesley Pryce,' she recited promptly, and then waited for his reaction. It was almost exactly as she'd expected- a vaguely worried look, then a sigh and immediate dismissal.

'Morpheus, do you _really_ want to drag Lock into this obvious case of insanity and delusions?'

'Not insanity, Captain,' Morpheus said in his usual quiet tone. Dena kept her gaze level with Mifune's, trying to look as sane as she possibly could.

'Believe me, Captain, if I were in your position I'd be saying exactly the same thing. Except probably with a few more profanities thrown in.'

He gave another sigh, like a man submitting to the inevitable headaches that were going to ensue.

'All right, Morpheus. On your head be it.'

He led them along the walkway to a large personnel lift at the end of it, which took them down a short way. They emerged into a rough rock passageway lined with metal grills for flooring. Dena noticed a new tension in the set of Morpheus' shoulders and was intrigued. They were in a survival situation, sure, but such outright hostility between a commanding officer and one of his captains was not a good thing at all. She was getting very interested by this Lock, _very_ interested indeed.

'Good luck,' Mifune said, although whether it was directed at herself or at Morpheus she didn't know. He promptly turned and walked away. Morpheus gave her an unreadable look and knocked. A deep voice from within called for them to enter.

Once again, Dena was surprised. Lock was dark skinned with a brutally short crop of black hair, heavy brows and enough lines on his face that she could easily believe he was the sole commander of Zion's heavily put-upon defensive forces, although she guessed that he was in fact younger than he looked- perhaps in his early forties, or maybe a little older. Certainly not the ancient old battleaxe she'd expected. His eyes were a deep chestnut brown, but where Morpheus and the impenetrable Neo had gentle, warm gazes, his when he looked up was brutal and shrewd; the look of a man who had seen too much wanton destruction to be bothered any longer with such mundane things as pleasantries.

'Captain Morpheus.' Now _that_ was an entire conversation in a single phrase. Dena had a sudden impression of great and tired calm; vast energies had been expended between these two, and now they seemed to find it best to just get on with things, the storm blown out. While Lock's attention was on her companion, she cast her gaze carefully around the room. It was clearly a purpose-built office, with extensive plasfilm plans and blueprints fastened to every inch of the walls. But there was a definite order in the manner of arrangement. One wall appeared to be city plans. Another was a level by level breakdown of the dock area. Either side of the door were small geoscans of the tunnel area immediately surrounding the city. Glancing discreetly down at the desk he was sitting behind, she noted that the at first seemingly haphazard piles of film were in fact in specific piles. A small notebook of old fashioned woodpulp paper (apparently the main means for the written word in Zion, as she'd seen several people scurrying about with clipboards in the dock) sat next to a keypad for the screen fixed to the wall precisely at eye level. A slightly closer scrutiny of the sheets at the top of the pile revealed some to have written notes in a neat, precise hand. Block capitals used for maximum readability. This was a man who liked order and sense, to have things arranged in a manner where everything had a proper place and so was easily accessible when needed. Military indeed. And _very_ like Commander Pryce in that respect.

Suddenly aware that Morpheus had stopped talking and she was being stared at, she assumed a captain's easy stance- alert, but without the bone-jarring rigidity that greener ranks tended to show- and fixed her gaze on a point about ten centimetres above Lock's left shoulder.

'Well.' His voice was as careful as his office arrangements, but positively dripped with open disdain. 'Identify yourself, soldier.'

Dena almost laughed outright but kept her face passive and snapped to attention, switching effortlessly to the crisp, barking tones of address used to keep cranky commanding officers on their toes.

'Captain Dena Reese pilot first grade, attached to HSS _Gormenghast_, serial number oh-two-one-nine-nine-three-four-six-eight _sir_!'

'Good _God_, Morpheus,' Lock exclaimed. 'What _is_ this? We don't have any _Gormenghast_ and- dammit, this is clearly a case of extreme self-delusion and very probably VDTs. Why in the hell did you bring her to me?'

'The VDTs tested negative, sir,' Morpheus said mildly. Use of the word _sir_ clearly didn't come easily to him. 'And I think you'll find that Captain Reese is in fact quite lucid.'

'Morpheus, I ought to have you thrown in the stockade for wasting my goddamn time!'

'Permission to speak freely, _sir_,' Dena put in. He gave her a look of distaste.

'Very well, _captain_. Permission granted.'

She activated her wrist scanner and consulted it for a moment, relaxing from her rigid stance.

'Sir, if I'm not mistaken this cavern appears to be approximately twelve metres down from the main dock level, the walls composed mainly of bauxite, granite and other igneous rock material. There's a fifteen volt power cable running along that wall to connect to the system screen here. Furthermore sir, if you'll excuse the personal observation, I see you have a three centimetre square metal plate in your backbone and a two millimetre diameter pin supporting the joint in your left knee. Looks like you've seen some action in your time, sir.' Closing the scanner, she regarded him for a moment. He didn't look particularly impressed.

'You've done your homework, _captain_. Congratulations. Morpheus, get out of here and take her with you before I change my mind about that visit to the stockade.'

'Believe me sir, if I were in your position I'd be saying exactly the same thing,' Dena said quickly. She dropped her carisac on his desk and pulled out one of her pistols, turning it to present the grip to him. He started and then cautiously accepted it, giving it a cursory inspection.

'Antique. Looks like one of the old firearms. Not much use here, I'm afraid.' Now she could see he was getting irritated, but then so was she. Pulling the other out of its holster she fired a single shot at the ceiling. The laser bolt was clearly visible as it impact the rocky roof. A small amount of dust drifted down.

'Laser shot?' Ah, now she had his attention. He stared at her, disdain vanished. 'Where in the hell did you get that gun?'

'Standard Fleet issue, sir. Type B lasgun sidearm. Wish I had a type A to show you but if I fired one of those at the roof we'd have had a bit of a cave-in on our hands. Something else you might find interesting-' opening the neck of the carisac, she took out a grenade and handed it to him. 'Don't pull the pin unless you want to knock out your hardware, Commander. That's an EMP flash grenade. Got a default activation radius of about fifty metres.'

'EMP flash grenade?' he repeated, this time with a kind of incredulous amazement. Morpheus, Dena noted, had stepped back and was watching with interest from just beside the doorway.

'We call this a blast bug,' she went on, drawing out what looked like a hand-long tube with three hooked legs at the bottom of it. 'You definitely don't want to let that off in here, sir. One megaton nuclear blast, producing all the standard features with the bonus of low-level fallout with a half life of around three milliseconds. Short spell nuke with all the punch and none of the mess afterwards. The legs on the bottom are magnetic. You can set it to go off on impact or by remote activation. I'd recommend the latter, since a megaton nuke is a megaton nuke and you don't want to get caught at the edge of a blast from this l'il fella.'

'How convenient that a demonstration isn't practical,' Lock said with a measured level of doubt in his voice. Dena shrugged, took out another EMP flash, reset the range to one metre, the timing to twelve seconds decay constant, and let it off. There was a brief fizzing sound and the lights went out. Groping inside the carisac, she found a nonelectric glow tube and shook it open, bathing the blackened chamber in a dim yellowish light and revealing the now-shocked face of Commander Lock.

'Sorry about that sir but scepticism can be a terrible thing. It's not high intensity so your circuits won't be wiped. But I'd bet it could knock out one or two of those sentinel things long enough for some of your people to make a getaway.' Right on cue, the lights flickered and came back on as the remainder of the pulse dissipated. Dena snapped the glow tube shut and stowed it in her bag. The disdain on Lock's face had been replaced by cautious interest and a new level of respect.

'What ship did you say you were with, Captain?'

'The _Gormenghast_, sir. She's HSS, a haulier supership, currently docked at Phobos orbital base. I was on a recon mission to Terra Luna in the hopper ship _Mariposa_ when I had problems with my engines and was forced to crash land on the surface.'

'Are you telling me you were flying in a _spaceship_, Captain?'

'That's mostly what I fly sir, yes. Although the term _spaceship_ is a somewhat…antiquated one.'

'And where is this _ship_ of yours?'

'On the surface. I headed underground, sir, because as you're undoubtedly aware the it's less than hospitable up there and I had a close-up view of some of those sentinel machines that I wasn't eager to repeat. And to answer your next question, the _Mariposa_ is a write-off. I brought her in on minimal thrusters sir, and she flew like a brick in shit, to quote my old flight instructor's favourite phrase.'

'And the _Nebuchadnezzar_ found you in one of the tunnels?'

'At BC 2-18, sir,' Morpheus interjected.

'That's a helluva long way down, Captain,' Lock said, sitting back and steepling his fingers in front of him. 'How long have you been here?'

'From landing to when the _Neb_ found me was approximately one hundred and fifty hours, sir. To this moment I've been here nine days in all.'

'And you survived in the tunnels on your own for the better part of a week?' Now the scepticism had returned.

'I did, sir.' She took the scattering beacon off her belt and held it out. 'This device scatters my body heat signal and recalibrates as my surroundings change. As long as nothing actually _sees_ me, I'm undetectable.'

'Useful gadget,' Lock said grudgingly. He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, turning the beacon over in his hands. 'Could you give me co-ordinates for your crash site on the surface?'

'I imagine so, sir. If I can reference my scanner to your grid system I should be able to give you a perfectly precise reference.'

He nodded and reached for a comlink, issuing a rapid set of orders to some unfortunate on the other end. Then he looked up at Morpheus.

'Dismissed, Captain. And tell _no one_ of this. Ensure your crew keep their mouths shut.'

'As you wish, Commander,' Morpheus said neutrally, and turned to leave as a younger man loaded down with rolled up plasfilms came through the door. After he'd unloaded them onto a chair he was gone, and Dena was alone in the room with Lock. He pointed to one of the wall charts.

'That is a grid breakdown of the dock area. If we can cross-reference three of your grid readings with ours we should end up with a conversion system.'

Dena nodded and examined three points- the pad where the _Neb_ had set down, the lift shaft and the room they were currently in. Comparing it with the charts, they converted and then Lock rummaged through the plasfilms before unrolling a specific one onto his desk.

'Not exactly prime real estate up there, is it?' Dena observed.

'The surface is a general no-go zone,' he responded. 'Point me to your ship, Captain.'

She consulted the scanner's log and stabbed a finger at the page. 'Right there, sir. Unfortunately I can only give you an accurate to within about a square kilometre, but that's the square she's in. Or what's left of her.'

'Is there nothing salvageable?'

'I doubt it, sir. At least not what _I'd_ call salvageable but your people seem to have a much broader definition of the term.' He seemed to like this. 'All her circuits are fried. Hoppers aren't designed for planetary landings, let alone through that mess of cloud and shit you got for a sky. And bringing her in on thrusters only…'

'I see. But there should at least be wreckage to see. What can you tell me about this ship that will make it easier to find in that kilometre?'

'I can give you alloy compositions, sir. Mostly she's an artificial titanium amalgamate, which should stand out like a sore thumb on your scopes. Are you planning to send a search party, sir? I was the only crew.'

'I'd feel better finding some less conveniently portable evidence for your story, Captain,' he replied coolly. 'Gadgets and gizmos are one thing, but a spaceship is quite another. As luck would have it this spot is far enough from any machine surface installations to warrant a judicious investigation by one of our ships. In the meantime, you'll remain in the city under guard.' His tone turned to almost genuine regret. 'I apologise if I seem unduly suspicious, Captain. But these are suspicious and dangerous times.'

'On the contrary, sir, I'd think you were the one pulling an elaborate hoax if you did anything otherwise.' She tried a small smile. 'I haven't served under any commanding officer who'd act differently given the circumstances.'

'You've a disciplined outlook, Captain. Is this Fleet of yours military?'

'Indeed it is, sir.'

'Good. Then I won't have to battle through superstition and hearsay in our dealings. That I appreciate.'

'By superstition, sir, are you referring to this talk of the One that I've heard so much about?'

'I am.' He narrowed his eyes slightly and this time she was bold enough to grin.

'Put people in a rat pit and they make gods out of the fleas. Put them in a flea pit and they'll make gods out of each other, sir.'

For some reason he seemed to find this amusing, and a shadow of a smile crossed his face.

'Is that a quote from somewhere, Captain?'

'I imagine so, sir. I heard it from my squad captain when I was an ensign fresh out of the Academy. At the time he was referring to the isolationist colony on Sigma Beta.'

'Perhaps after we find your ship I can hear the full story,' he said as the door opened and another more junior officer came in. 'Lieutenant, escort Captain Reese to quarters near dock level. I want a guard on her door twenty four hours a day until you're notified otherwise, understood?'

'Yes, _sir_. This way please, ma'am.'

'Until we speak again, Captain,' Lock added.

'As you say, Commander,' she replied neutrally, and the door closed.


	5. The Council

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: Sorry, I think under the circumstances a little Council session is warranted. It's not like women carrying space-age gadgets drop into the dock every day. At least I'd assume they don't.**

_Part 5­- The Council_

The room they put her in was by Fleet standards barely big enough to swing a cat. But since cats were unheard of in Zion that didn't pose a problem, and Dena was too used to being cooped up for long periods of time in compact Makauly fighters for it to bother her. There was a guard either side of the door outside, and food and water were brought in at regular intervals. For the two weeks she was thus confined she prepared a full report on Zion and Terra based on her current knowledge as she had gleaned it from Link. She doubted very much that anyone would ever get to read it as a report, let alone Commander Pryce, but it gave her something to do and also enabled her to put her thoughts in order.

On the sixteenth day the door opened and one of her guards escorted her into a lift which plummeted down a good two or three kilometres to the very bowels of the immense city, which to her thinking closely resembled a beehive structure, buzzing with people who accepted their incredible circumstances with nary a complaint- but then of course to them _her_ everyday life would have seemed incredible, she had to remind herself. Eventually she found herself in a half amphitheatre-like room, seated at a table on the ground level with Lock on one side and a guard on the other. At another table sat three people she didn't know; one attractive chocolate-skinned woman with an unmistakeable air of authority about her, a small, compact man who appeared to be of oriental descent and a stockier man with pale skin and startlingly bright blue eyes. The rows of seats that ascended behind the tables were empty save for one, where the four crewmembers of the _Neb_ were seated on the second tier up. Arranged on a long table at the front of the room sat twelve more elderly men and women. This, she supposed, was the much-vaunted Council that governed Zion. Civilians, every one. And with a man of Lock's military inclination she'd have liked to see some of the butting of heads that undoubtedly went on in this chamber. As she sat Lock discreetly pushed a small scrap of paper meant for her eyes. In his hand was written _let me handle the talking until I signal you otherwise_. That got her attention and also alerted her to the fact that if there were sides being drawn, he was on hers. Lacing her fingers together on the table in front of her, she gave a barely discernible nod when his gaze flicked into her direction. He returned it and then rose.

'Councillors, twelve days ago I brought to your attention the arrival of Captain Dena Reese on the _Nebuchadnezzar_, and the claims to her origin that she has made.'

'Claims which you believed unlikely to be proven, Commander,' observed one of the council.

'At the time sir, that is true.'

Dena's heart gave a leap. _They found the Mari_!

'After consulting with Captain Reese on the precise location of her…landing, I ordered the _Logos_ to investigate the area on the surface.' He glanced at the other table and Dena noted the way the female caught his eye. _Liaising in the ranks, Commander?_ she thought with some amusement. Yet the woman was undeniably quite beautiful although there was a sternness in her eyes that belied more than a pretty face. Although she had yet to hear her speak, Dena decided that she liked her.

'Captain Niobe, will you please give the Council the same report you gave me yesterday?' Lock sat down as this Niobe rose. _Captain Niobe_, Dena thought. _Well…there stand I_.

'The _Logos_ was directed to grid area four-two-three by one-four-six on the surface,' Niobe said in a strong, clear and confident voice. 'We were instructed to concentrate our search scans for an unfamiliar titanium composite alloy. It was unusual enough to be easily located, and we brought back a sample for the labs to analyse.'

'Do we have the results of this analysis?' asked one elderly woman wearing an elaborate hair fastening who was seated directly in the centre of the table. Niobe glanced at Lock and received a small nod before continuing.

'Yes, Councillor. The alloy is completely unknown. It contains isotopes of titanium that have never before been found, as well as traces of several entirely new elements.' She fell silent as the Council exchanged muted whispers amongst themselves. One of them spoke out.

'Commander, I would like to see a copy of that lab analysis.'

Lock merely nodded and the lieutenant seated on his other side made a note as Niobe went on.

'We landed and entered the ship on foot. We found it to be a one-man craft consisting of a narrow cockpit with several plasma display screens and a complex set of what _I_ believe to be navigation controls. The ship appeared to be completely unarmed except for some grenades and other unusual devices in storage lockers built into the rear compartment. The design, both interior and exterior, was like nothing I've ever seen. Clearly it wasn't a machine ship, but it wasn't one of ours either. It looked like it was designed to fly, but the engines were contained to two tight nacelle-like structures on either side of the main fuselage. We were unable to determine how they functioned.'

'In your estimation, Captain, had the ship undertaken a crash-landing?' asked another silver-haired man thoughtfully.

'I believe so, Councillor. There was extensive damage to the hull including some carbon scoring that looked like it was caused by a direct electrical discharge. We also found several hundred metres of tracking on the terrain that would seem to indicate a skid halt on the ground.'

'Thank you, Captain,' the woman with the hair-piece said.

'Councillor, if I may?' Upon a nod Niobe turned to the oriental as he passed her a cloth-wrapped bundle. 'In addition to the scans and holographics we also detached this from an internal bulkhead.' Stepping out from behind the table, she walked to the front of the room and deposited the object in front of the older woman, who unwrapped it curiously as the captain returned to her place and sat down.

Dena chanced a glance back at the _Neb_'s crew. Morpheus was intent on the proceedings, leaning slightly forward with his chin in his hands. Neo was similarly interested although in a more relaxed pose, and Trinity leaning lightly against his side. Link seemed to find the whole thing somewhere between fascinating and mind-boggling, but he caught Dena's eye and gave her a small wink.

By now the metal plate, whatever it was, had been passed along and each councillor had seen it. Finally it reached the woman at the centre again and she finger the edge thoughtfully before reading aloud.

'_LHS Mariposa Built Phobos Orbital Shipyard Launched September 18th 2956_.'

'Is this the Phobos that orbits the planet Mars, Captain Reese?' asked the man who'd inquired earlier about the crash landing.

'It is, Councillor,' Dena said, battling to keep her voice level.

'You are in fact a traveller from that planet?' asked the woman, sounding somewhere between intrigued and disbelieving, not that Dena blamed her.

'Not a traveller, Councillor.' She glanced at Lock, saw his nod and rose. 'I was on a survey mission- aerial reconnaissance of Earth's moon. I experienced engine malfunction and was forced to crash-land here.'

'May we ask _why_ you were surveying the Moon?' asked silver-hair.

'It was a preliminary set of sweeps for the fourth mission set to prospect for minerals there,' Dena informed him.

'Prospecting?' asked a coffee-skinned councillor. 'So you are some kind of mining engineer?'

Trying to ignore Lock's barely audible snort of amusement, Dena hid a smile.

'No sir. I'm a Fleet officer and first grade listed pilot.'

'_First_ grade?' Silver-hair put in. He gave her a wry smile. 'Should we take that to mean you're one of the best?'

'You could put it like that, Councillor.'

'I see. So if this accidental landing can happen to one of the best it can presumably happen to anyone?' He was apparently the local wit.

'In theory sir, yes. But the flight path I was following is not one frequented by pilots of any grade. Fleet doesn't come near this planet much, Councillor. It's believed to be an empty graveyard and dead rock. Nobody where I come from even suspected there was any kind of life left on Earth, sir. Especially _human_ life.' Deciding that a little genuine flattery wouldn't go amiss, she added, 'The odds Zion has defeated to survive here go beyond calculation, Councillors. An excellent testimony to the ingenuity and skill of your people and their leaders.'

The others seemed pleased by this although she noticed that same wry smile on silver-hair and made a note of his face as one she needed a name for. However that idea had to be pushed aside as the council launched into a full-scale interrogation, questioning her at length about the Fleet, the government, organisation, population and history of the Coalition. She answered everything honestly and as thoroughly as she could, but volunteered no additional information.

'Captain these weapons of yours…the grenades and suchlike…could you show our engineers how to replicate their design?'

'I wish I could, Councillor.' She'd been waiting for the question. 'But I'm a pilot, not a munitions expert. I can recite blast radii, after-effects and probable recoil on any weapon you care to name, but I'm afraid I can't build one. What I _can_ do is find ways to improve the designs of your ships- make them faster, more manoeuvrable, easier to control. I'm a qualified flight engineer as well as a pilot.'

'Councillors,' Niobe interjected. 'We brought back everything we found in those weapons lockers on the _Mariposa_. Perhaps the engineers could take one or two apart and rebuild them backwards.'

'I wouldn't advise that, Councillors,' Dena countered. 'Some of those weapons are nukes. Someone pokes something in the wrong piece of circuitry and you're going to end up with a nasty impromptu barbecue. It might be a feasible option for the flash grenades and maybe a lasgun, but beyond that I'd rather not be held responsible for something going wrong.'

'Commander Lock, please investigate the possibility,' hairpiece said. 'Will we have your assistance as far as you are able, Captain Reese?'

'Of course, Councillor. We're all humans here.'

They _did_ like that.

'Just one final question for today, Captain,' silver-hair said. 'Will your people come looking for you, and whether they do or not would it be possible to contact them?'

'They won't be looking for me, Councillor. As I said, to the Coalition Earth is a dead zone. I'd be presumed deceased the minute the _Mariposa_ entered the thermosphere. And it's absolutely impossible to contact anything from the surface with that electrostatic cloud layer in place. All that would get through would be static.'

He nodded.

'Then it appears you are stuck with us, Captain. Life here may be a far cry from what you're used to but I hope you can find it in you to adapt to our ways.'

Hair piece nodded agreement as the entire council rose, apparently signalling an end to the audience.

'For what it's worth, Captain, I believe you have kept your head impeccably under extreme circumstances. Thank you for all your assistance- and all you will no doubt continue to render.'

The others nodded and filed out to a door on the left, talking quietly amongst themselves. Dena took a deep breath and sat down, letting her eyes blur. She'd gone through the entire interview as she did any debriefing, on a kind of automatic pilot, but the last few things she'd said suddenly reappeared to smack her on the chin.

_Stuck here_.

'Captain.'

She looked up sharply to find Niobe standing in front of her. The dark-skinned woman held out the bulkhead plate she'd retrieved from the front table.

'I think this belongs to you.'

Dena took it and ran her hands over the inscription, trying to hold herself together. But her eyes filled, and Niobe's face gradually softened until it became nothing more than a hazel blur, whereupon she closed her eyes and it vanished completely.


	6. Ship Spotting

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: Yay! The big entrance! I know I said Lock was fun to write, but if he's fun then Sparks is just damn right _cool_ to write…**

_Part 6- Ship Spotting_

The next day Dena received a flying visit from Link on his way to the dock, wishing her luck as the _Neb_ was about to leave. Then he told her where Zee lived.

'Her and Cas- I told you about Cas, right?- they told me to say any time you're feeling lonely, just you hop on down there. Invite to dinner, whatever. And believe me, you don't want to pass up one of Zee's stews!' He grinned at her. 'Don't forget it, all right?'

'Thanks, Link. I appreciate it.'

'Hey, no problem. See you round, next time we're in dock, okay?'

'Be careful out there.'

'Be careful in here!' With a final grin and a wave, he was gone. Since she'd been given her freedom of movement back (and told she was to consider herself attached directly to Commander Lock's staff, whatever the heck _that_ meant in real terms) she went up to the dock. Gossip apparently spread like wildfire in Zion, although living in one another's pockets as everyone was that was understandable, and more than one of the deck crews waved at her like she was an old friend. Wandering up to the nearest parked hovercraft, she walked underneath to examine the repulsor-pads more closely.

'Whoa, careful there- oh, it's you.' Turning, she found a leaner and younger version of Morpheus looking at her. After a moment she realised they weren't related, but the similarly shaved head threw her for a moment. 'Picked out this old girl for number one on the flight improvement list, huh?'

'Actually I was just getting a closer look at the pads,' she replied. 'Mister…?'

'Thadeus. Captain of the _Osiris_.' He extended a hand and she shook. 'One of the best in the fleet. She'll stand up to any amount of tinkering.'

'Since she's your ship I'll take that with a pinch of salt,' Dena said dryly. He threw his head back and laughed outright at her.

'Oh, you're genuine all right. Spoken like a true fellow captain! Mind you, if you want to look at her on paper I imagine you can get hold of the prints no problem, the way Deadbolt's got everyone hopping around those doodads of yours.'

'I'll bear it in mind.'

'So they different where you're from?' he asked, accompanying her as she continued to traverse the underside of the _Osiris_' hull.

'_Very_ different. Say, what's the top speed you get on these hoverships?'

'Depends on the ship. They got characters all their own.' He reached up and gave the nearest panel an affectionate slap. 'Best I got out of this baby is something like three hundred kph. Zero to that in ooh…about fifteen seconds or so.'

'Not bad,' she admitted grudgingly. 'For a surface craft.'

'Well what's your maximum then?' he asked, bristling slightly.

'FTL,' she replied blithely.

'What's FTL?'

'Faster Than Light. An indeterminate speed qualified as anything over three hundred thousand kilometres per second, by which stage you're into folding space and dimensional boundary crossings. Fleet ships equipped with FTL drives are used to make the journey between solar systems. Plot the course right and you can get from Jupiter to Proximita Centuri in about fifty seconds. Same time for Jupiter to Betelgeuse, or any other star you care to name. Plot the course wrong and you'll probably end up crushed to a micron of your original mass when you stumble into a black hole.' Ceasing her idle examination of the pad above her head, she glanced at him.

'You're shitting me!'

'I shit you not, Captain.'

'_Holy_ shit,' he said, shaking his head in disbelief. 'Well, I'll see you round. I'm going to go feel inadequate in some corner somewhere.'

She laughed but cut herself off when another ship caught her eye.

'You all right?' he asked her, sobering abruptly. 'You look like someone just walked over your grave.'

'That ship there-' she jerked her head to indicate '-whose ship is that?'

'That one? That's the _Logos_, Niobe's ship. Smallest in the fleet, since you ask. She'll tell you it's the fastest but we still all reckon she puts it through a dishwasher when it needs cleaning.'

'It's the perfect size,' Dena murmured. Thadeus looked at her.

'You prefer small? You know, you women just confuse me sometimes-'

'That's not what I mean.' Forgetting him, she hurried across the bay to look at the other ship. It was half, even a quarter of the size of every other ship in the dock, compact and tidy, suspensor-pads close to the hull, more streamlined in appearance. But it was the _size_ that attracted her and made a plan leap into her mind. If she could just get a proper look inside, see the engine space, perhaps get hold of the specs and the blueprints…without thinking she strode right up, ducked underneath and ran her hands along the underside to feel the bulkhead integrity. Pretty good. She'd need a sonic reading, but she could modify her pocket scanner to handle that easily enough, and if she could find a way to manufacture some version of the hull sealant used on the smallest hopper ships…

'_Hey_!_ You under there with the itchy palms_!'

She whirled to find blue-eyes from the Council room glaring at her with barely concealed fury. It faded to mild irritation when he caught sight of her face.

'Oh, it's you. What in hell are _you_ doing under here?'

Since she didn't want to remain in a stoop to talk to him she came out, although it didn't make much of a difference as he topped her by a full head. He had his sleeves rolled up and from the lack of plugs anywhere she supposed he was one of the freeborn- a 'child of Zion' as Link had put it. Now that she was beginning to acclimatise she could see that the freeborn tended to be stockier and generally _bigger_ people than ex-pods, the occasional variances like Morpheus not withstanding.

'Just being nosy,' she said. 'She's the only one I've seen with the pads this close together.'

'Just the way she's built.' Then his eyes narrowed. 'Hey, don't you go planning any fiddling about with her. She's fine _just as she is_, you hear me?'

'You this overprotective of all the women you know?' she asked, amused by his defensive attitude, then jerked her head at the hatchway. 'Mind if I look inside?'

He glared at her for a moment and then relented.

'All right. But don't touch _anything_.'

'I'll restrain myself,' she said, now _very_ amused, and followed him up the ramp. On the main deck, she took out her scanner and started logging readings, including sonics for hull integrity.

'Hey- what are you doing with that thing?' he demanded.

'Just sizing her up, that's all.' Dena couldn't stop a delighted smile at the readings she was getting. 'Damn but she's _perfect_. Almost made to measure.'

'To measure _what_, exactly?'

'Energy cells. Thrusters. And you know, I think if you ripped that assemblage there out you'd get some compressed air tanks in.' She ducked down behind a chair to examine a floor coupling.

'That _assemblage_ happens to be my station,' he snapped. 'You know I might get in trouble for this, which really doesn't bother me, but I think I'm actually going to tell you to piss off.'

Kneeling up to look at him over the seat of the chair, Dena raised an eyebrow.

'I think I owe the place an apology. Up till now I thought the denizens of this city were friendly, helpful and polite people.' With an exaggerated shrug, she stood and continued scanning. 'Guess I was wrong.'

'Yeah well you're the one poking around _my_ ship,' he said with a measured amount of scorn. 'And to answer your next question no, Niobe wouldn't like it either.'

'What's her top speed?' Dena asked him.

'Why the _hell_ should I tell you that?'

'Well if you don't I'll just climb down into the engine room and start taking readings to work it out for myself,' she said amiably. He folded his arms and scowled.

'Five hundred kph flat out at full power with all pads running. We got five fifty out of her once but it blew half the power relays.'

'Five's pretty good. Any more like her?'

'Fastest in the fleet,' he confirmed, this time with a hint of pride. 'Best pilot, too.'

'Niobe?'

'Lost count of the number of times I lost my lunch the first few months. But you get used to it after a while. And once again I'm going to tell you to piss off, because believe it or not I actually have _real_ work to do on the software systems right now.'

'What's her mass?'

'About five point two tonnes. Why do you want to know this shit anyway? You've got the look of a revolutionary engineer about you and I might have to physically throw you down that ramp in a second if you don't stop pissing me off.'

'Just a second…' but before she could finish her last sweep he strode across and snatched the scanner from her grasp. Her hand immediately shot out like lightning, closing around his wrist dead on a pressure point and eliciting a loud curse as he dropped the scanner. She deftly caught it with her other hand and then let go of him, whereupon he backed off and rubbed his wrist reproachfully.

'Fleet training _does_ happen to include a full repertoire of unarmed combat skills such as physical pressure points,' she said mildly as the scan cycle finished, flipping the device closed and stowing it on her belt.

'Fine, if you put it like that.' He extended a hand towards the front of the ship with exaggerated courtesy. 'Pray continue to ogle the _Logos_ like some common wheelbarrow.'

'Actually I'm done. Thanks for your help,' she added sarcastically, but received only a bored look laced with deepest irony in response. Just then the coding screens, with their endlessly falling columns of eerie green lettering, caught her eye and she nodded towards them. 'So that's what you do?'

'I'm the operator,' he confirmed.

'You can read that stuff?'

'Yeah.' His tone indicated that this wasn't a particularly remarkable ability and was accompanied by a shrug. She strode over and waved a hand at the displays.

'So what's going on? Anything special? A parade, perhaps? Fireworks?'

He gave her a completely unreadable look and then a resigned sigh, crossing to sit in the heavy chair set before the screens and jabbing one finger at code lines as he spoke.

'Okay…these slow falling lines are mainly scenery, fixed programs, stationary objects. Colour of the walls, type of flooring, textures and stuff. Displays all the relevant appearance algorithms for whatever area I'm currently looking at which is…an alleyway outside some club. Nothing special. The more rapid lines are mobile programs; birds, insects, some dog crapping on the sidewalk, and then these things whizzing about here are humans who're plugged in, along with high-level programs like- see that one there?' He tapped a command into the console and the screen refocused on a different line which didn't seem very extraordinary to Dena. 'That's an Agent. Did someone tell you about Agents?' She nodded. 'Well, that's the closest you or I are likely to come to one, thank hell. Bastards, they are. Now all this stuff on the far right is background programming- things like gravity, air resistance, centrifugal force, all the laws of physics and that shit. We got a light wind blowing here, some loose paper flying about, young couple with their tongues down each other's throats against a door, that dog- man, that's one _sick_ dog-'

Unable to help herself, Dena started laughing. He stopped and stared at her.

'I really was serious about having stuff to do, you know.'

'Then I'll let you get on with it.' She clapped him on the shoulder and left, going straight back to her quarters and taking out her scratchpad to begin making some calculations. By the time her chrono, adjusted to Zion time, hit 1700, she was sure, and made straight for Commander Lock's office.


	7. Going Orbital

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: More on the Coalition later. For now let's say I still prefer to think that at _some_ point in the future, if we survive, humanity will unite as a common people. I'll keep my rose-coloured glasses until they get broken, _thank_ you very much.**

_Part 7- Going Orbital_

'Do you _realise_ what you're proposing, Captain?'

'I do indeed, Commander. I'm proposing the only way to make contact with the Coalition that we now have.' Dena stabbed a finger down at the printed plans currently laid out on the main table of Lock's command centre in the main dock. 'If we get a ship into orbit seven months and sixteen days from today, we'll be detectable to the Prospector IV on its way back from Terra Luna.'

'What makes you so damn sure?'

'Because I know the mining guilds, Commander, and they're bastards for keeping to schedule. The Prospector IV is due to launch in five months and sixteen days, so believe me come hell or high water that ship will be launched on the dot. They'll spend two months parked dirtside surveying and drilling and whatever the heck else they do, then _on the dot_ they'll launch for the return to Phobos base. On the journey back they'll pass within easy scanner range of Earth orbit. They'll be doing routine sweeps, and if they see something buggering about up there that shouldn't be you can bet your ass they'll come over to investigate. The mining guilds answer to Fleet, Commander. That means to be granted access to restricted airspace, which covers the entire Earth and anything buzzing around it, they'll follow Fleet protocols to the letter. And I may be but a humble pilot, sir, but I _know_ my own service's protocols.'

He sighed and hung his head wearily for a moment before speaking again.

'Captain, I honestly believe you're on our side, if there is such a thing. Really I do. The modifications you've already suggested to the _Icarus_ and the _Dauntless_ have increased power efficiency and made those two into better functioning ships that can rack up three times the distance before they need to recharge. My engineers tell me that they're well on the way to duplicating the flash EMPs and I don't even care to think about how many lives those will save. But sacrificing an entire ship to such a project isn't an easy decision to make. We don't have that many. It's more difficult than you'd believe to scrounge up the parts to make more. And the _Logos_ is…'

'The smallest, fastest and most manoeuvrable ship in the fleet,' Dena finished for him.

'Yes. And she also has our best pilot.'

'Captain Niobe?'

'She flies like I breathe, Captain. And Niobe is-'

'Not a lady you want to piss off?' Dena finished again, this time with an impish grin. He looked at her with vague alarm, brows furrowing. 'Pardon the liberty, Commander, but it _is_ obvious.'

He sighed.

'She loves that little ship. It won't be easy to convince her to give it up, let alone to a- an offworlder. The Council will also need to be consulted.'

'Damn it.' Dena cast her eyes heavenward for patience. 'Whoever came up with the idea of a civilian government in a military survival situation should have his balls sliced open.'

To her surprise, Lock gave a bark of laughter. It was the first sign of levity he'd ever shown and a half-cocked smile improved his face considerably.

'Don't we all know it! Spoken like a true soldier, Captain.' Then he sobered and glanced down at the plans again, idly following something with his finger. 'Do you really think this can work?'

'I've had worse starting material, sir. And if your people can make me that hull sealant, we'll have the _Logos_ ready to go orbital before you know it.'

The next thing was of course to convince the Council. This time Dena was ready for them and after consulting more carefully with Lock she knew which of the individual councillors to target- and she'd learned the one name that mattered, which was Hamaan. Old silver-hair was apparently the most forward-thinking, the one best defined as slightly crazy, and more importantly the one whose opinions could influence the whole of the rest of the council and perhaps sway an entire decision. There was an equivalent in every assembly of people, and the trick that Dena knew was to make the whole address here as if she were speaking to Hamaan alone. According to Lock, if she won him over the rest would quickly fall into line. The next step, and the more difficult one, would be to convince Niobe.

'We hadn't expected to see you again so soon, Captain,' said Councillor Dillard, whose name Dena had also quickly discovered to avoid calling her _hairpiece_. 'But Commander Lock tells us you have a proposal to make.'

'I do, Councillor.' Dena rose and walked to the table, laying down a smaller version of the draft refit plans she'd assembled after begging a copy of the _Logos_' blueprints from the cranky Zion archivists. 'This is a set of rough drafts for a refit of the _Logos_.' As she turned back she saw Niobe, who was seated at the other table again with her crew, snap to attention in her seat.

'What manner of refit, Captain?' Dillard asked, unrolling the plans. They clearly meant very little to her.

'A complete refit, Councillor. The _Logos_, like the rest of Zion's fleet, is a hovership. However unlike the rest of the fleet she is also a smaller, sturdier and more compact design. In fact she's the perfect size and structure for what I'm proposing.' Pausing to turn and face the council again, Dena remained standing in between the two speakers' tables so all eyes remained on her. 'Councillors, I believe that with some engine modifications, a little ingenuity and a lot of elbow grease we can give the _Logos_ orbital capability.'

That got their attention. Dena risked a discreet glance at Niobe, who mouthed _what the hell_? at her. Ignoring this, she continued to address the council.

'My flight to Terra Luna was only a reconnaissance for a more major prospecting mission aimed at locating minerals or other useable resources buried there. In just over seven months, Councillors, this mission will be complete and the vessel making a flyby of the Earth as she returns home. They won't be interested in this planet, but they will be making standard sweep scans.' Again she paused for impact. 'If they detect an orbiting ship, even one that doesn't match any design they know, they _will_ come to investigate. They'll make contact. And when they do they'll be relaying everything that happens back to the command post at Phobos base. If we get their attention, Councillors, Zion will have the attention of the entire Coalition.'

She stopped there for a longer moment to let this sink in.

'What would you say, Captain, are the chances of success if this plan goes ahead?' asked Councillor Grace, a dark-skinned woman wearing a headscarf in turban fashion.

'With the correct modifications to the _Logos_, a half decent crew and a launch within the appropriate time window, I believe this venture has at least a ninety percent chance of success. Maybe more.'

'A crew, Captain?' Dillard echoed. 'You are the only person on this planet who has ever flown anything beyond the Earth's atmosphere. Where do you proposed we find a crew?'

'Volunteers, Councillor. I can train them. They'll be heavily involved in engineering the alterations to the _Logos_ and so familiar with the systems that are installed.'

'But you'll do the flying,' Niobe put in suddenly, in a tone Dena couldn't interpret.

'Yes, Captain, I'll do the _orbital_ flying,' Dena said, deciding to play that particular trump card early. Pretending to address the council again although her next words were meant solely for the other captain, she went on, 'I would recommend to the Council that a pilot proficient in traversing the tunnels and surface of _this_ planet be included on the crew to manage sub-orbital navigation.'

'Your recommendation is noted, Captain,' Dillard said.

'Pardon my ignorance, Captain,' Hamaan put in, leaning back in his chair and tilting his head up to look at her down the length of his nose, interest mingled with scepticism on his face. 'But suppose this _venture_, as you put it, succeeds. Suppose the _Logos_ does successfully make contact with the Coalition via this prospector craft and have this contact relayed to Phobos. What exactly will that _mean_ to us here, in Zion?'

Good question, Dena thought. Lucky that she and Lock had anticipated it and planned a riposte.

'It will mean, Councillor, that you can once again pick the red or blue pill.'

_Thank you, Commander_, she thought as the council fell to muttering amongst itself at this. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the oriental man- Ghost, she remembered Lock telling her- leaning across to whisper something in Niobe's ear. The captain only nodded neutrally, her gaze still levelled on Dena.

'Could you clarify that please, Captain?' Hamaan asked, unfazed.

'Choose blue, Councillor, and stay in here, stuck down the rabbit hole in the middle of an endless stalemate of a war that you've been fighting for at least the past hundred years. Choose red, leave this place behind and you'll have a new home in a place where no sentinel can ever reach you.'

'Are you suggesting that we _leave_ Zion?' asked Councillor West. 'That we abandon our home and tamely retreat before these machines?'

'I am _suggesting_, Councillor, that you could build a new Zion in a place where your children can run free, barefoot on green grass under blue skies.' Dena folded her arms and injected steel into her tone. 'Within the past twenty years my people have begun the process of extrasolar expansion; the location and colonisation of new habitable planets in other star systems. In the present climate there is nothing we value more than a group of people who can live in relative independence on a new and untamed world. People who have order and discipline. People who can manage resources. Survivors. People, councillors, like every man, woman and child of Zion.' Silence, but she had them all riveted now. 'Do you know, councillors, what the standard drop number for a brand new extrasolar colony is?' Without waiting for a response she answered the question for them. 'A million people over five years. That's how many of _our_ civilians it would take that long to begin to make a foothold in an environment where they have no enemies, ample natural resources, fully-equipped military assistance and data records telling them exactly what to expect. Your ancestors carved Zion out of this planet's crust with a fraction of that number, little more than their bare hands and a war going on around them. Councillors, if that's what you can do here, just imagine what you could do on one of those raw new worlds in the same situation as those dumbass colonists of ours. You'd make them look like amateurs! Hell, compared to you people they _are_ amateurs!' She'd been walking slowly to the front of the room again, and now leaned forwards onto her hands and the table in front of Dillard. 'And once you've proved that world, it's yours. You have a representative in the congress. You're a part of the Coalition. You have a _future_.' Stepping back again, she let her voice drop so they all strained to hear her. 'Earth may have been your cradle, Councillors, but don't let it become your grave as well.'

There was a long, drawn-out silence once she'd finished. Then the councillors all turned to each other and began to converse in low, urgent tones. Dena went to sit back down between Lock and his lieutenant. He gave her a brief, tight smile that reflected her own opinion.

She had them.

The council conferred for several minutes and then abruptly fell silent. It was Hamaan, to Dena's delight, who spoke next.

'You've a way with words, Captain. And a conviction behind them, it's obvious. Your plan is ambitious, to say the least. I don't doubt there are many in this city who'd call it foolish.' He paused. 'Commander Lock, what is your opinion of this idea?'

Lock did not stand, but his voice was firm.

'I believe it is feasible, Councillor. It will take a great deal of work and resources, but I honestly think it can be done. _Should_ be done.'

'Then you truly think it is in the city's best interests, Commander?' Dillard said, sounding shocked.

'Councillor, the mark of a true tactician is know when the battle is over. I can say,' he went on, sounding more haggard than Dena had yet heard him, 'Within this room and in assurance that it will go no further than these walls, that this war is currently in a deadlock. Without any kind of radical action I cannot see any alternative other than that it will remain so indefinitely.'

'So you condone Captain Reese's idea?' Hamaan said.

'I do, Councillor.'

This prompted some more discussion but it quickly died.

'The Council cannot make this decision alone,' Dillard said. 'We will say that so far as it is possible, Captain Reese, we approve of your idea and your plan to implement it. However we cannot and will not _order_ any captain to surrender her ship to such a plan.' Her gaze moved to the other table. 'Captain Niobe?'

Niobe glanced over at Dena and then stood. She took a breath and stared down at the tabletop in front of her, then abruptly looked up, but instead of looking at the council she looked right at Dena, her dark gaze seeming to bore in halfway to the other woman's soul.

'Captain Reese, the _Logos_ is yours.'


	8. Captain and Company

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: Okay, I lied again. Lock is fun, Sparks is more fun, and the whole of the _Logos_ crew together are like a party on my muse.**

_Part 8- Captain and Company_

Dena remained sitting and staring at the front of the room long after the council had departed. She had glanced briefly over at the other table, where Sparks was having a rather heated one-sided debate with a blank-faced Ghost and Niobe was speaking to Lock. That interaction intrigued Dena somewhat and she strained her ears to eavesdrop on their conversation.

'You know, if someone had told me yesterday that I'd have heard what I just heard coming out of your mouth, I'd have laughed in their face,' Niobe was saying to the commander. 'You _really _believe in her, don't you?'

'It's not a question of belief, Niobe,' Lock countered easily. 'She doesn't come to me with ideas and dreams. She comes with schematics and flight plans. I told you once that I don't care about dreams or ideals, I care about keeping this city and everyone in it safe from those machines. _This_ is the best way yet I've heard of doing it.'

'Well you've surprised me, Jason, and that's no lie. In fact you've done more than surprise me. You've _impressed_ me.' Without further comment Niobe walked over to where Dena was sitting.

'That was some hard-sell, Captain.'

Dena looked up at her and smiled.

'You know, somehow a plain _thank you_ seems a little lacking.'

'I said you can have my ship for this thing,' Niobe said. 'But that's on one condition- you keep my baby safe up there, you hear me? After seeing what you did to that last crate you landed- if landed's the word- you're lucky I'm letting you within a hundred miles of the _Logos_.'

'Actually I was wondering if you'd like to come along and keep an eye on her yourself,' Dena said without batting an eyelid. 'I'll need a copilot. Someone who can navigate that maze of tunnels out there, get to the surface so I can _get_ her into orbit.' At an incredulous stare she grinned. 'Commander Lock tells me you're the best pilot on this rock. Since he's never seen me in action in a Makauly fighter I'll forgive him that for now, but his word's good enough for me and you'll sure know your own ship better than I do.'

'You want _me_ to fly her to the surface so you can take her orbital?' Niobe folded her arms and ran her tongue around the inside of her bottom lip thoughtfully. 'That's one hell of an offer, Captain.'

'It's going to be one hell of a ride.'

'_That_ I can believe.' She glanced back at her crew, one half of which was still engaged in a heated monologue at the other half, who looked somewhere between bored and mildly amused. Dena rose and came around the table to stand beside her.

'So what're they good for, besides the Odd Couple impersonations?'

'Ghost's a gunner. Best I've ever seen.'

'There's not going to be much to shoot at in orbit.'

'He runs copilot for me sometimes. Knows how I work, can anticipate my moves on a run. Plus he knows how the squids think. How to avoid them, not just shoot them down. Sparks…he's our operator on hacks. He's fast, smart, a little neurotic. And he knows every circuit on the _Logos_ inside out.' Niobe's gaze slid sideways to meet Dena's, a new slyness to it. 'How much of a crew are we going to need?'

'I'd say about four,' Dena replied in a similar vein, and was rewarded with a furtive smile.

'So will they be worth bringing along?'

'If they know the ship. And your word's good enough for me, Captain.'

Niobe winked at her and moved off.

'I'll get right on it.'

The next morning Dena had to paused at the bottom of the _Logos_' hatchway and grin to herself at the three-way shouting match that was going on. She'd already guessed at the somewhat informal structure of the chain of command in Zion, but this just took the biscuit.

'Are out of your goddamned _mind_? Not only are you giving her the ship, you're going _with_ her to get your brains sucked out by her little green man-eating buddies from planet Mars!'

'Humanity achieved space travel before the war and nothing bad ever came of it.'

'Oh yeah, like nothing bad ever came of AI either- remember _that_ one?'

'This is completely different.'

'How is it different? Okay, so she's from space. That's great. And now she's stuck here. I _bleed_ for her, I really do. But for some reason I don't feel the need to jump on the bandwagon with everyone else after this goddamned _lunatic_-' at this point Dena actually came up onto the main deck and the entire tirade ceased as neatly as if a switch had been flipped. Niobe and Ghost both looked as though they were struggling not to laugh, and Sparks was absently rubbing the back of his neck as he examined a dangling power coupling, affecting an air of total innocence.

'Good morning, Captain Reese,' Niobe said pleasantly.

'Good morning to you, Captain Niobe,' Dena replied, equally pleasant. 'You know my old flight instructor at the Academy used to tell me that if you treat your ship like a lady she'll always bring you home.' She gave Sparks a dry look. 'If you treat this ship how you treat the ladies you know, buddy, it's a wonder you've still got a full set of functioning limbs.'

Niobe laughed and waved a hand at the oriental man.

'Captain Reese, this is Ghost, first mate and gunner. Lieutenant Charming here is Sparks, our operator.'

Ghost had a firm but brief handshake. Sparks just gave her a glare.

'We've met,' he said in a stony tone, then pointed an accusatory finger at her. 'I _knew_ I should have just drop-kicked you down the lift shaft the _second_ I saw you poking around the pads. I _knew_ it!'

'Deadbolt gave her the run of the dock yesterday, Sparks,' Ghost intoned pedantically. 'You'd have only gotten yourself thrown in the stockade.'

'Yeah, well that'd be better than _this_.'

Dena rolled her eyes.

'Well, did you put the proposal to your crew, Captain Niobe?'

'That was what the shouting was about,' Niobe said with a small smile.

'And?' Dena asked.

'Chance to go orbital?' Ghost said. 'You can count me in.' She laughed.

'Oh, you're a gunner all right. They're the same everywhere. What about you, Sparky?'

He gave her a filthy look and a derisive snort.

'I think that was a no,' Niobe said helpfully.

'We're still going to need an operator,' Ghost pointed out.

'That we are.' Niobe cocked her head slightly and Dena kept quiet, seeing two experts about to set a bait. 'I suppose we'll need a volunteer from another ship.'

'What about Jinks from the _Fernando_?' Ghost suggested. 'He's fast. And he'd be crazy enough to-'

'_Jinks_?' Sparks exploded. 'That pod-born, pencil-necked, wet-eared, wet-bedded little _shit_?' He started towards Ghost, waving a finger in front of the smaller man's nose. 'You let that scummy little bastard anywhere _near_ my circuit boards and I will _string you up_-'

'They ain't your circuit boards any more, mister,' Niobe put in neatly. 'Unless you want to keep 'em, of course, in which case your circuit boards are going orbital and they sure ain't waiting for you.'

He hesitated and then narrowed one eye at her in a near-comical squint of annoyance that Dena found very amusing indeed.

'You know, Niobe, blackmail's a _nasty_ word.'

'I happen to think blackmail's a great word,' Niobe replied nonchalantly. 'Right up there with _gullible_.'

'Fine. Whatever.' He looked elsewhere, but the scowl vanished and was replaced instead with an expression of mild anger that bordered on disgust. Niobe grinned at Dena.

'Okay, so we got a crew. And an operator. Now what?'

'Now we start playing mechanic.' Dena pulled open the scale plans of the _Logos_ she'd appropriated multiple copies of and, with Ghost's assistance, laid the one of the main level out on the deck. 'I'm afraid you might shed some tears if you're the sentimental type, because for a start we're mostly gutting her interior. All this-' she waved a hand to indicate the ectochairs and coding screens '-all the hacking equipment, the core, everything, has to go. Most of this deck is going to be housing the energy storage cells and believe me those babies aren't small. We're going to be stripping the engine room of the electro-cells for the repulsor-pads and replacing it with a new energy converter that can give us the juice we need to get through the ionosphere. The cargo bay is going to be air tanks and more cell storage. Outside the pads are coming off and we're going to do some pretty unspeakable things to get nacelles out of 'em, that'll give this baby her lift. After that we coat her top to tail in hull sealant, the recipe for which I handed to the Commander and I have his assurances that plenty of bodies will be cooking up for us. And on top of all that, we got this to think about.' Straightening up again, Dena pulled out the magnetic chrono she'd set and slapped it onto a central bulkhead where it was clearly visible.

'What's that?' Sparks asked.

'Time limit,' Niobe said quietly. Dena nodded.

'We got a two day launch window just over seven months from now. If we don't make orbit within that forty-eight hour period we'll miss the Prospector and that's game over. There's no way, even from orbit, to contact Phobos base or anywhere else there's people. There isn't a transmitter on this planet that could do it.'

There was a long pause. Then Niobe crouched down and began to inspect the notations Dena had made on the schematics spread over the deck.

'So I guess we'd better be ready when that forty-eight hour period comes up,' she said in a tone that brooked no argument. Then one finger jabbed out towards the engine room and a note there. 'Now tell me about this energy converter of yours…'


	9. What's Space Like?

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: Well I had to get him in here _somewhere_.**

_Part 9- What's Space Like_?

Three weeks later Dena was sure she was actually in the middle of some kind of ship-refitting nightmare and kept telling herself to wake up. The problem wasn't so much the ship, or resources, or manpower- Lock had given orders, reinforced by the Council, that the _Logos_ Project (a label Niobe found very funny) was to be given as high a priority as humanly possible. In fact most of the dock technicians were drawing straws and climbing over each other to see who got a chance to work on it on any given day. Various other departments had an informal competition to see who could turn out necessary parts or equipment the fastest. The crews of the other ships, which came and went almost continuously, often found 'excuses' to stop by and lend a hand wherever they could. No, the problem was that Dena herself was the final word. There wasn't a single other person in the whole of Zion who had the slightest clue how to make a ship spaceworthy. Her schematics for the energy converter were, as the engineer corps put it, revolutionary by Terran standards. The idea of a ship being able to get _anywhere_ without repulsor-pads was barely credible. So every twinge to the design, every miniscule alteration, every slight equipment incompatibility _she_ had to check. Because there simply wasn't anybody else to do it, of course. And everyone involved- which seemed to be the whole _city_, at select moments- were throwing themselves into it, doing their _best_…but they just didn't have anything like the expertise. Space travel was like a myth to them, an ancient legend or a fairytale for children's bedtime stories. But she kept going, _had_ to keep going, because if she was being honest she liked Zion's people a great deal and damned if she was just going to sit back and watch them all rot fighting a pointless, endless war against a vastly superior enemy. They deserved _better_ than that. And if it killed her she was going to give them a chance to _have_ something better.

'Hey.'

The vaguely familiar voice made her glance round, then turn around with a smile that she found was entirely genuine and even rather pleased.

'Hey there, Neo. Didn't see the _Neb_ come in.'

'We don't as much as the others.' He stuck his hands in his pockets and gazed up at the _Logos_, which currently bore a close resemblance to a building site. 'You've certainly been causing a stir around here, huh?'

'So they tell me.'

'You really planning to take that heap into orbit?'

'She's not a _heap_,' Dena found herself shooting back.

'Sorry.' He gave her an impish grin. 'Why the _Logos_?'

'Well the _Neb_'s got too much of an ass, if that's what you mean.'

'Too big, huh? I thought it might be that.'

Stowing the bolt-gun on her belt, Dena came over to stand by him and look up at the ship. Then she was unable to resist asking.

'So what does Morpheus think of all this?'

'Morpheus?' Then he caught her meaning and snorted. 'He's reserving judgement, I think. Doesn't see how it fits in with the prophecy. Although in that respect I think I owe you one.'

'Meaning?'

'Well Trin and I arrived at our quarters today and there were only five people there.' At her quizzical look he sighed. 'There's usually about fifty or more, all trying to catch a glimpse or ask a question…or a blessing or some shit like that.'

'Glad my little project's given you some peace, Your Holiness,' she said wryly. He laughed.

'I'm guessing you don't believe in that kind of thing, huh?'

She shrugged.

'Well I'm not denying the existence of a higher power- you look at the faces on some ugly people and you just _know _that not only is there a god but he's got a sense of humour-' this prompted another laugh '-but I'm afraid where I come from what _you_ do isn't a matter for superstition, it's a matter for a neurologist.'

The smile vanished, replaced by interest.

'What do you mean?'

'Neo, I'm no medic. But I do know someone on the _Gormenghast_ who has the same effect on me as you do when you give me one of those stares of yours. His name's Kerry Maloney. He's Psi, ESP grade three.'

'ESP? You mean extra-sensory perception?'

'Yup. Where I come from it's just a genetic anomaly- pretty rare, I'll grant, and even more useful, but an anomaly nonetheless. Something like one in every ten thousand people are born with extra mental abilities- TK, TP, etcetera. Psi corps are attached to Fleet. Every heavy cruiser I know's got at least two officers on board. Now, since you've never been exposed to the proper stimulus for any such abilities you have to manifest themselves, I'm guessing the reason you can do what you can do inside this Matrix thing is because it works via a direct neural interface which speeds the whole shebang along a few notches.' She flashed him a grin. 'Sorry to rain on your parade as I am, that's _my_ opinion on the One.'

'You know I probably should be annoyed,' he agreed. 'But actually that's…pretty reassuring. And it _does_ make sense, what you've said.'

Dena smiled, more gently this time, and jerked her head at the _Logos_.

'When we make contact with Fleet, I'll have them pass the word along. Psi's still rare enough that they'll be hopping up and down to have a potential dropped into their laps. In fact I think from what I've heard you might be a higher grade than Kerry. But if you ever meet him, don't tell him I said that.'

'My lips are sealed.' He folded his arms and stared blankly ahead for a moment, then a small and rather distant smile settled on his face before he looked back at her. 'Thanks. And, uh, good luck. If you don't mind my saying so I think you need it.'

'Now luck is one superstition I'm never adverse to. See you round, Neo. Say hi to Trin and Link for me. And that old crackpot captain of yours.'

'I will. And,' he added as he turned to leave, 'I think I'll keep quiet about this Psi thing when he's around. It might piss him off.'

Once Neo was gone Dena found herself feeling surprisingly refreshed. _Definitely_ a high grade ESP, that one. He was in a good mood, for whatever reason- she suspected the lack of a crowd outside his and Trinity's door might have something to do with that- and had probably been broadcasting it without realising what he was doing. That was one of the most obvious signs a potential displayed, she remembered Kerry once telling her. Not that it was unwelcome, she thought grimly as one of the junior technicians on duty came sprinting up to her carrying a conduit section as though it were some kind of holy object.

'Captain Reese, we were looking for something to use as the core for the central coolant valve and I was wondering if this would do-'

'Lemme see.' She took the section from him and gave it a once-over. It was the right size, certainly, and an appropriate diameter. Taking the scanner from her belt, she ran an integrity analysis. 'Yeah, that ought to do just fine. But you'll need to coat it inside and out with some of that great metallic polymer you guys came up with.' It was then that she abruptly recognised the overeager face that bobbed in front of her. 'Hey, aren't you the kid who haunts Neo?'

He gave her a sheepish grin.

'Yeah, that's me. I was going to volunteer on a ship next year but I'm already old enough to start training in the tech corps so I signed up now for that instead. I wanted to help with the _Logos_.'

She handed planted her hands on her hips.

'How old are you, kid?'

'Fifteen,' he said, sounding vaguely apologetic for some reason. 'And- I don't know if I should say this, Captain, but Neo told me that he thought you were a better hope for the city than he was.'

Dena had to smile at that.

'Between you and me, kid, I don't think Neo likes being a messiah very much.'

'I think that sometimes too. And I know I annoy him- a _lot_ of the time.' He dropped his eyes.

'Hey, chin up kid.' She gave him a wink. 'You help me get this old girl here in orbit, I'm sure he'll forgive you.'

'Yes _ma'am_!' He snapped to attention, reminding her of the rookie pilot squad on the _Gormenghast_ for their deck training. 'Can I ask, Captain- what's space like?'

'It's a big cold vacuum full of stars, kid.'

'I know that- I mean- you know, what's it _like_? To fly in it, and see other worlds?'

'It's-' the question moved her more than she cared to admit '-it's like nothing you can imagine, kid. Something I hope to hell you _do_ see one day.' She hesitated. 'You pod-born?'

'Yeah. Neo got me out. So we got that in common, I guess. Both came in on the _Neb_.'

'So you remember what blue sky looks like? And grass?'

'Sometimes.' He shrugged. 'Sometimes I forget. It doesn't matter. That wasn't real. Do _you_ see sky very much, Captain, even being a space pilot?'

'Often enough.'

'Is it…beautiful?'

'Yes, it is.' Her brows creased slightly. 'I never realised just how beautiful, but it really is. Like the feel of grass under your feet…or starlight glinting on a screen.' Suddenly she remembered where she was and snapped out of it, pushing the conduit into his hands. 'You get that coated, kid. Mech chief knows the one to use. Inside and outside, mind!'

'Yes _ma'am_!' he said again, and sprinted off. Dena shook her head and turned around, to find Sparks leaning against one of the hoists that held the ship far enough off the ground for technicians to walk freely underneath and make alterations. He was watching her with a look on his face that she couldn't decipher.

'Some kids just lurch from hero to hero, huh?' she said, aware that her voice sounded hollow in her own ears, and hurried back up the access ramp to see how the new power distribution grid was coming along.


	10. R and R

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: Isn't character interaction fun?**

_Part 10_- _R and R_

That night she was up poring over cockpit plans, assembling the means to accommodate four bodies and all the monitoring screens needed to keep track of a jury-rigged orbital ship when a knock at the heavy door to her quarters, set just below the main dock level, roused her. Without looking around she called for whoever it was to come in and experienced for the umpteenth time a feeling of sincere regret that they didn't have anything even close to coffee in Zion.

'Got those cockpit circuit schematics you wanted,' said a voice that was familiar but that she couldn't be bothered to identify.

She looked up as she took the plasfilms and was surprised to see Sparks.

'Uh, thanks.'

'No problem.' He started for the door and she returned her attention to the plans in front of her, but glanced up at him again when he spoke.

'You know, I feel I owe you an apology.'

She only looked at him so he went on.

'I think we kind of got started off on the wrong foot. In fact, we probably got start off on the wrong limb entirely, if you take my meaning.' He thrust his hands deep into his pockets and examined his boots for a moment, then switched his attention to the ceiling. 'I guess I was a bit pissed off at having to work around a figurehead. You know, the 'spacegirl.' 'Woman from Mars' and all that shit.'

'Actually I'm from Ganymede,' she said. He ceased his perusal of the ceiling and stared at her.

'What?'

'I'm _from_ Ganymede. I just work from Mars.'

'Ganymede?'

'Fourth Jovian satellite.' When he still looked blank she clarified, 'One of Jupiter's moons.'

'Oh, _right_. Sorry.' He seemed uncomfortable about the lack of knowledge. 'Astronomy not really my strong point. There isn't much call for it around here, what with the, you know, lack of sky and all.'

'That's understandable.' She tried without success to stifle a yawn and then rubbed idly at the back of her neck, attempting in vain to ease the stiffness there.

'We do, however, have this nifty little idea on planet Earth,' Sparks said in an overly helpful tone. 'It's called R and R. Basic idea is, once a day you actually _stop working_ for at least three or four hours to give your brain time to regroup, and during those hours you do something different. Sleep, for instance, that's always a good one.'

She gave a mirthless bark of laughter and leaned back in the chair to stretch her arms up as high as they would go, feeling a satisfying _pop_ as the tendons went taut.

'I haven't got time to sleep, not with the first orbital launch this planet's had in Maker knows how many years looming a mere six months away.'

'I would've thought that'd give you double the reason to get some rest,' he said, folding his arms and regarding her thoughtfully. 'The whole thing's likely to run a lot smoother if our _only_ spaceflight engineer and orbital pilot doesn't collapse from exhaustion.' When she only cocked an eyebrow at him he tilted his head on one side and raised his eyebrows. 'You should take a break, at least. Come on, you been here over a month and all you've seen is the goddamn dock and council chamber. Take a couple of hours off and I'll give you the five cent tour.'

Dena looked down at the sprawl of diagrams and charts which suddenly seemed like one continuous set of unintelligible scribble, and had to admit she was tempted.

'They'll still be here when you get back,' Sparks said. 'Come _on_, you haven't even laid foot inside the Temple yet- and you're the first tourist we've ever had.'

'Well now I can hardly pass _that_ up, can I?' Without too much reluctance, Dena rose and threw on her jacket, motioning for him to lead the way. After she shut the heavy door they started along one of the walkways that crisscrossed the massive borehole which basically housed the city. When he paused and leaned on the railing to stare downwards she had to ask.

'Why the change of heart?'

'About what?'

'About me.'

'Oh.' He did have the good grace to look embarrassed. 'I guess I started off thinking you had a fine cheek, marching in here and promptly rearranging the entire show, but after seeing you talking to that kid earlier-' he glanced at her but quickly looked away again '-I realised you're just someone trying to get home, so it's not exactly fair to go judging you like some kind of criminal upstart. I mean, the way you were talking about blue sky and that stuff…' This time his gaze remained on her face. 'Zion must be like hell and then some for you, huh?'

'It's…' she searched for words but couldn't find them. 'Yeah.'

He gave a snort of amusement.

'Don't worry, I'm not offended or anything. But you're really serious, aren't you? About getting everyone out, I mean. _Totally_ out.'

She laid her hands on the rail and examined her fingernails for a moment.

'I just don't think it's fair or right that children should have to grow up scared all the time.'

'Scared?' The prospect seemed to vaguely puzzle him. 'I was never scared when I was a kid. Kids don't get scared by the war, or the machines. It's just the way things are. Now adults, _adults_ get scared. A lot. But the kids don't even mind that since that's just a thing adults do. Kids just run around and make a mess. That's what _they_ do.' He shook his head and stared out bleakly.

'Spoken by someone who either has kids or is still greatly in touch with his own inner child,' Dena said in a teasing tone.

'Are you joking?' he exclaimed. 'I _hate_ kids! Yeah, I know I'm going to have to have 'em eventually- everyone does here, kind of a species obligation or something- but I've been putting it off as long as possible by means of being completely offensive to every female I know.' When she laughed he pretended to look thoughtful. 'I think after I have to bite the bullet I'll change ships. To the _Neb_, maybe, they don't come in to recharge very much.'

'With any luck after we make orbit you can pick a career that involves a very minimal contact with children,' she replied, smiling. 'It's certainly not compulsory to reproduce on _any_ of the colonies.'

'Now that _is_ worth refitting the ship for,' he said with real feeling, then glanced at her as she rolled her sleeve up to reveal a small piece of white plastic embedded at the top of her right shoulder, barely a single millimetre square. 'What in hell is that?'

'_That_ is a Fleet standard issue contraceptive implant,' she told him. 'Takes away all the inconveniences of being female including the ability to have babies.'

He let out a long whistle of approval.

'So your get the recreation without the follow through? I'm starting to like the sound of these colonies of yours.'

'With any luck you'll get to do more than like the sound of them in a few months.'

'You're damned gritty, aren't you? Probably the most optimistic person on the planet right now.'

'Well there are plenty more where I came from.'

'That's…comforting.' He fell silent for a moment. 'So do you have anyone to get home to? Some dashing soldier-type with a liking for really fast ships with big guns?'

'Not as such. I prefer leaving a trail of broken hearts behind me in the various star systems I visit.'

'Somehow that doesn't surprise me.'

'Oh?'

'You just strike me as the sort of person who knows what she wants and doesn't mince words getting it, that's all.' He straightened and gestured to the elevator. 'Come on, I owe you a tour.'

Sparks was true to his word and Dena didn't think there was a single nook or cranny of Zion she hadn't seen by the time they came up from the maintenance level. For whatever reason he'd left the famous Temple until last and the moment they entered it (for some reason he insisted they both remove their boots first) she could see why. It was probably the largest natural cavern she'd ever seen, riddled with hanging stalactites and stalagmites, and about three times the temperature of the rest of the city.

'Sheesh, it's warm in here.' Then she spotted what was, for lack of any other description, an open magma pit, and glanced at him in astonishment. 'But then I can see why.'

'Gets even warmer with quarter of a million bodies in here for the gatherings,' he said, and then motioned at a long ledge running along one wall. 'Ship crews tend not to get caught in the crush, we usually stand up there apart from everyone else. Speaker stands up on that platform there and shouts. Usually one of the council, since Deadbolt doesn't hold with this kind of thing.'

'I knew there was a reason I liked that man,' Dena muttered under her breath.

'Another consummate sceptic, huh?' he remarked, making her jump.

'How in the hell did you hear me?'

'I got good ears. And when you have to put up with Ghost whispering down a phone line half the time he's trying to give you tactical data you soon learn to stay sharp. So you like Deadbolt, eh?'

'I think he's a damn good soldier, if that's what you mean. And a damn fine man too, since we're splitting hairs.'

'No argument about the soldiering part, but he's not all that popular.'

'So I gathered.' Dena rounded on him and planted her hands on her hips, not in the least intimidated by the fact that she had to tilt her head up quite a way to look him in the eye. 'How come?'

'Oh don't get me wrong, guy's good at what he does, but he's got this drive to him that the council doesn't like all that much. He keeps command since they _know_ they haven't got anyone better, but put him outside a situation involving large amounts of violence, bloodshed or military organisation and he's pretty much screwed. And I know for a fact he holds a great dislike for non-military personnel.'

'He'd make a good Fleet officer. I've yet to meet one who holds an opinion about civvies different from mine.'

'Which is?'

'They're like plagues- very occasionally useful but best avoided if at all possible.'

He laughed.

'I see why Deadbolt likes _you_, now I come to think of it. Well…we've been to the maintenance level, the gardens, reservoir, armoury, I think you know the dock better than _I_ do by now, and the Temple. So that's Zion. What do you think, now you've seen the full article?'

'It's growing on me,' she allowed. 'But you've never seen Phobos Orbital.'

'That floating base you hail from?'

'The very same. Where the _Gormenghast_ is docked.' Then she sighed.

'Home, huh?' he said, surprising her.

'I tend to think of her as home more than any fixed place like Ganymede, or even Phobos.'

'How many crew?' he asked as they turned to walk back to the entrance.

'About ten thousand, all told.' At his look of utter disbelief she winked. 'They don't call her a supership for nothing. If you saw the size of her you'd understand.'

'Gees, you people must live in each other's pockets up there.'

'Actually my quarters on-ship are bigger than the room I'm in now. But the main cargo deck, I'd say that's about three times the size of that.' She nodded back to the Temple as they strapped their boots back on outside.

'That _is_ big. But then they do say size isn't everything.'

'Considering the _Logos_ I'd agree,' she said as they stepped into the elevator. 'How long you served on her?'

'Nearly three years. So as far as Niobe and Ghost are concerned I'm still the irritating newbie, of course.'

'What happened to the old operator?'

'They had a run in with some sentinels near the surface. Ended up with a hull breach and one inside, who took umbrage at his attempting to shoot it and pulled his heart out through his ribcage before Niobe could hit the EMP.' He glanced at her in time to see her grimace and close her eyes. 'Not much of that on Phobos, huh?'

She shook her head and forced herself to look at him.

'Hell. Most of what Fleet deals with in the big operations are accidents- mining accidents, accidents on dome colonies, emergencies on gas harvesters or asteroid trawlers, sometimes the occasional privateer on some stolen ship or maybe an illegal smuggling run. I've seen some messy stuff in my time, especially on the mining colonies, but the thought of something _deliberately_ setting out to kill a human being is…pretty foreign to me, I admit. And being in a war with something that hates you just because you _are_ human…facing that kind of thing every single day…' she had to stop and shake her head again. 'I don't know how you do it.'

For a moment he didn't reply, walking with her to the door of her quarters, then he assumed an expression of exaggerated disbelief.

'Did you just _compliment_ me?'

'Yeah, I think I did. Sorry.'

'Forget it.' He motioned to the door before turning to leave. 'If I were you I'd get at least a couple of hours sleep after that little hike. Then if you _really_ insist on it those schematics should still be on the table.'

'Thanks for the tour,' she called after him.

'No problem. I'll see you in the morning, _Captain_,' he tossed back over his shoulder. She hid a smile and opened the door to go inside, where the bed seemed suddenly very welcoming indeed.


	11. I'll Make Me A Flower Garden

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: You might say Niobe isn't the gardening type, but I think after fighting a war your whole life even the most kick-ass ladies would like to take up rose-pruning.**

_Part 11- I'll Make Me A Flower Garden…_

Much to her own disgust, Dena slept a full eight hours until her chrono- which she set to an alert every night despite her tendency to work straight through- woke her at Zion time 0600. She then finished the notations to the cockpit designs along with the circuitry in double time, as the diagrams seemed to make a lot more sense after giving her senses time to recharge and regroup. There was only one problem.

'Well what use is a cockpit design if there's no way for us to get _into_ the damn thing?' Niobe demanded. 'What are we going to do, _teleport_ ourselves inside for the launch?'

'Wouldn't need to,' said Ghost, who had a rather terminal matter-of-fact manner that Dena found both useful and amusing. 'Take off the sealant round the cockpit window, lift it out, we get in and then weld the seal closed afterwards. I'm guessing whoever picks us up eventually is going to be well-equipped enough to get us out of it later, right?'

'So we're going to _seal_ ourselves into the ship?' Sparks said in utter disbelief.

'It's as good a plan as any,' Dena agreed. 'And it'll have the added bonus of ensuring the seal is completely air tight. Believe me, you don't want any leaks once you go orbital.'

'_Seal_ ourselves into the ship?'

'Yes, Sparks, we're going to seal ourselves into the ship,' she repeated.

'Remind me again why I volunteered for this crazy-assed mission?'

'You didn't volunteer, we blackmailed you into it,' Niobe reminded him.

'Oh, right. Yeah, I remember. You bastards.' Then he shrugged and went off to get a pair of heavy-duty shears to cut the retainer couplings on the windshield just as Commander Lock arrived.

'Progress report, Captains?' he said to nobody in particular.

'On schedule for the time being, Commander,' Dena answered when Niobe didn't.

'Engineering reports that concoction sealant of yours should be ready by the time you need it. What about the hardware?'

'All good, sir. If I didn't know better I'd think you ordered the quartermasters to be extra co-operative.'

'If this ship and this crew are going into _orbit_ the last thing it needs is shoddy equipment,' he responded stoically, but she caught the brief flicker of his gaze to Niobe and had to once more hide a smile. 'I've had one of the archivists make the extra copies of the surface with what weather pattern information we have, Captain. If you require additional copies of any printed material Lieutenant Palls is the man to see.'

'I will sir. Thank you sir.'

'Keep up the good work. All of you.' With a final nod, Lock departed. Once he was out of earshot Niobe gave a long, slow laugh. Ghost glanced at her and made a discreet retreat into the loading bay.

'Well well, Captain, you sure have him wrapped around your little finger,' Niobe said to Dena.

'I thought that was your prerogative, Captain,' Dena shot back without a pause.

'Which one of 'em do I kill?' Niobe asked her, meaning Ghost or Sparks.

'Neither. It's pretty obvious, if you don't mind me saying.' Dena strode over to one of the half-built nacelles and pulled out her scanner to check the material integrity. 'He's a good man.'

'Yes he is,' Niobe agreed. 'And a good soldier.'

'In that order?'

The other captain inclined her head slightly.

'That's not an easy question to answer. The two tend to be classed as the same thing here.' She folded her arms, half hugging herself. 'Although if you don't mind _me_ saying so, I get the impression you've had quite a few men wrapped around your little finger in the past.'

'That I have, Captain' Dena said with a grin as she stowed the scanner. 'But if they're worth the bother and willing, after a _long_ tour of duty on-ship who am I to turn the fellas away?' When she turned back she was greeted by a rather wicked and knowing smile.

'You know I think it's high time we dropped this captaining business,' Niobe said. 'Agreed- Dena?'

'As you like, Niobe. And in fact most people I work with call me Dizzi.'

'Dizzi? Dare I ask why?'

'Wouldn't need to, if you'd seen me in a Makauly fighter.'

'So what're your squadron, Dizzi's Daredevils?'

'Desperadoes, actually.'

'How many?'

'Eighteen pilots and the same again for gunners. Mine for six years now. Before that I was shunted about a lot, captaining small hauliers or the occasional light cruiser. But I'm fighter squad, born and bred. My daddy was commander of the _Eightfold Path_ before he bought it in a meteor storm off Callisto nine years ago.'

'I'm sorry,' Niobe murmured.

'I'm not. He died flying, doing what he loved. That's what my mother always says.' Dena sighed. 'I hope I get to go out the same way- if I can't retire to some nice pastoral planet and live out my twilight years with a flower garden, that is.'

'Been a long time since I saw flowers,' Niobe said quietly, shaking her head. 'And I suppose _technically_ I never saw them at all. But I used to like 'em…' Then she smiled again, more warmly. 'If this works and we get a planet for our own, Dena, I'll make me a flower garden and you can come visit me any time you like. Deal?'

Dena laughed and gave her a thumbs-up.

'Deal!'

Progress on the _Logos_ remained steady for the next five months, but Dena hardly noticed that she was continually working herself to exhaustion and then reluctantly collapsing to her bed every four or five nights upon a sharp reminder from Niobe or, on one occasion, a direct order from Lock. In fact, when she consulted the maximum permissible schedule she'd laid out for the refitting of the ship, they were almost an entire month ahead of themselves. Still she drove herself, the unflagging enthusiasm of the dock crews, technicians and any resident ship crews that were around lending a reason to her impulsion. More than once Sparks threatened to deck her if she didn't get some rest. A few times even Ghost had firmly taken a tool out of her hand with a tacit suggestion that she at the very least seek employment that didn't involve cutting implements. She was feeling a nagging itch and sense of bitter confinement at being grounded so long, to add to her other worries, and only the thought of what she was going to do in an increasingly short time kept her from going into some kind of half psychotic rant at everyone and everything in sight.

As her familiarity with the dock and its immediate environs increased, Dena took to staying behind after the end of the main Zion day, working under the light of a large lamp in the now-open cockpit to reprogram the navigation software into something that could make the requisite calculations needed to get a ship into orbit around a planet. It was on one such evening, as the main dock began to shut down for the day to leave the smaller night crews in charge, that she glanced up from her work to find one of the council standing in front of her along with a rather amused-looking Sparks, who had his arms folded. Immediately she saved the file she was working on and climbed down, throwing a quick salute without thinking about it.

'Councillor Hamaan.'

'Not necessary, Captain. We don't stand for much ceremony here, I'm afraid.'

'Sorry sir. Where I'm from it's standard protocol.'

'Indeed. Well, one must expect a little culture shock I suppose, you are from a different world after all. Several different worlds, in fact, if I remember correctly.'

'You do, Councillor.'

He laced his fingers together thoughtfully.

'There's to be a full gathering at the Temple later tonight. I've been asked to speak and I was wondering if perhaps you'd like to address the people as well. Rumours, gossip and hearsay are one thing, but it might do a lot of good for everyone to see our offworld visitor, hear what you have to say, what you're planning to do.'

'Forgive me, Councillor,' she managed to say, 'But some would call that a little pretentious.'

'How so? I'm afraid it's quite common practice here.'

'As the old adage says, Councillor, don't count your chickens before they've hatched.' She tried a small smile. 'I don't want to speak of grand plans in front of everyone and jinx the launch.'

'I see. Very wise.' He regarded her levelly for a moment. 'Perhaps you'll consider it nearer the launch date. Are we currently on schedule?'

'As a matter of fact we're ahead of it, Councillor.' Dena could hardly believe it herself but she'd gone over every square nanometre of the _Logos_ and the little ship was well on the way to becoming spaceworthy. 'At our current work rate she should be ready for launch within another month to five weeks.'

'Ahead of schedule? That's excellent news. Which I will relay when I speak tonight, if you've no objection. Is there anything you plan for the extra time you'll have?'

'Yes sir. I've been preparing several system simulations to assist in training the crew.' She tried to ignore the fact that Sparks rolled his eyes as she said this. 'The extra time will be well-spent in preparation, sir. It should enable the mission to only run more smoothly in the end.'

'Let us sincerely hope so, Captain. I confess I rather like the idea of living someplace with grass.' He gave her another funny little smile. 'Until next time, Captain. Good luck.'

'Thank you sir.' She threw another salute, for the hell of it, which elicited a small chuckle, and then he was gone out of the lamp's glare and into the twilight gloom that bathed the rest of the dock. Sparks glanced after him and then came forward to speak to her.

'You coming tonight?'

'Where?'

'To the Temple.'

'Wasn't planning to. I almost got this flight program finished. Then it's just the air flow monitor and all the software's finished-'

'You said yourself we're a month ahead of schedule for the launch window,' he interrupted. 'Might be a good idea to try some of that R and R thing again. Remember that?'

'R and R in a rock cave crammed with sweaty people, listening to an old fart make a speech?' she retorted. 'Now _that's_ what I call culture shock.'

'It'll do everyone some good to see you there, and it'll do you good to get a damned break.' When she crossed to get some plasfilms from a trestle table he sat on one of the crates beside it and watched her sort through the blueprints. 'Do you always push yourself this hard?'

'I do when I'm trying to stop myself going stir crazy,' she said in a clipped tone.

'Yeah? Well you might find it a little easier to bear if you loosen up a little and let that bug up your ass die.'

She gave him a black look and then ran a hand idly through her hair, which was recently back to its usual chin-length bob after a kindly Cas had offered to give it a trim for her.

'I know I'm playing mister unsympathy here,' Sparks went on, 'But have you paused to consider the fact that two hundred and fifty _thousand_ people are pinning all their hopes and dreams on this launch? You can't keep pushing yourself to the edge or you're going to make a mistake when we hit crunch time and then that's it, the big finito. No backup, and no second chances. You tip yourself over that edge and screw up, that's two hundred and fifty thousand shattered dreams. I hope you realise that, _Captain_, the next time it takes all three of us to bully you into getting some sleep.' With that, he hopped off the crate and started to walk away.

'_Dena_,' she said through gritted teeth.

'Pardon?' He turned back.

'My damned name is _Dena_. You call me _captain_ like that again and I'll break both your legs, hear me?' She looked up just in time to see a shadow of a smile creep onto his face. He came back towards her and folded his arms again.

'You know tonight's a big one. There's more than likely going to be some proper drink about. I mean _real_ drink, not this watered down rehydration shit. You've never tasted anything till you've tasted Zion-made cider.'

'What's in it?'

'Fermented plant material. Mostly. I'm not sure about the engine oil but I can lay to rest the one about the human hair, and the other one about the plasma coolant is a complete fabrication.'

Dena had to smile at that and glanced up at the cockpit. Another overnighter spent wading through mathematical programming algorithms was beginning to look less appetising by the minute.

'Go on,' Sparks said. 'Be a daredevil.'

She gave a weary sigh and killed the lamp.

'Fine, you've convinced me.' Throwing her arms up in an exaggerated gesture of compliance she managed to drag out a tired smile. 'Lead the way.'


	12. Going Native

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: PAAAAARRTY!**

_Part 12- Going Native_

The Temple was indeed absolutely packed. It wasn't at all difficult to believe that there were a quarter of a million people in Zion, nor that more or less every one of them was present. Sparks guided Dena deftly through the swarms of people up onto the crew ledge to where Ghost was standing near the back. Dena spotted Niobe nearer the front of the cavern, up on the main ledge with Lock. And _that_ was as she'd expected.

She didn't bother to listen to Hamaan booming on about whatever he was booming about, although she gathered it had something to do with her or the _Logos_ judging by the way the crowds below kept glancing at the ledge as if trying to search her out. But she _was_ grateful that Sparks and Ghost had chosen a spot near the far wall which left them obscured from the view of the people by means of several other crews standing in the way.

Once Hamaan was done a loud cheer made the walls shake and then from somewhere on the other side of the immense cavern what sounded like a set of complex drum beats started up. Most of the people on the floor promptly began bouncing up and down with the beat, waving their arms about in a manner that reminded Dena of the rave clubs she'd once frequented during her Academy days on Mars. The only things missing were the strobe lighting and outrageous costumes, although the latter not so much since some of the outfits were pretty brief- obviously specialised Temple party gear. In fact the whole thing reminded her vaguely of some kind of ancient tribal dance, the kind that usually heralded a mass orgy or some such thing afterwards; the easiest way to keep a large group of people who didn't get much in the way of fun in a happy, docile mood. Considering what she'd seen of Zion culture so far she doubted things would get quite _that_ far, but there was definitely a carnival atmosphere that seemed to promote a rather more liberal state of affairs than would perhaps be permissible under ordinary circumstances.

'Here's the part where we sneak off and find the cider,' Sparks said in her ear. He was standing a little closer than she liked, but owing to the crush of people around them she let it pass. 'Look for the Temple aides, they're dressed in blue.'

'Over there,' Ghost said, pointing. They all started in the appropriate direction, Dena unable to shake the rather amusing sensation that she was undergoing some kind of rite of passage specific to the small crew of the _Logos_. The tiny little woman in the blue robe was quite amiable, grinning and nodding at Dena since conversation was almost impossible with the drumming in full flow by now. The trio each took a rather hefty mug of whatever alcoholic brew it was and retreated to a corner out of most of the noise, taking a sip simultaneously. Dena coughed and swallowed hard, trying to get the burning sensation out of her throat the moment she tasted it. Ghost squinted and then gulped a second mouthful, and Sparks banged one fist briefly on the wall before downing his own. Then he gasped and glared accusingly at the mug.

'Holy shit.'

'I think that's more coolant than usual,' Ghost remarked idly, then without hesitation drained the mug, not giving so much as a single splutter. Dena grimaced hard but managed to swallow the remainder of hers by taking a series of tiny, rapid sips although Sparks mimicked his shipmate, giving himself a shake.

'Phew. Must've opened one of the old ones. What d'you think, Dena?'

'Never tasted shit like that in my life.'

Both men howled with laughter.

'Remember what Cipher used to say?' Ghost said. 'Only good for degreasing engines and killing brain cells!'

'Cipher?' Sparks snorted. 'Now there was one _stupid_, _evil_ shit.' He and Ghost banged their mugs together in some silent toast that was beyond Dena's comprehension, but of course the cups were empty.

'Okay, that was pointless,' Ghost observed, looking into his mug as though he'd never seen it before.

'Yeah,' Sparks agreed. 'Although at the risk of losing the use of my tonsils, I'll settle with the empty.'

'Only take it in small doses, huh?' Dena asked, half shouting in order to be heard.

'If you value your throat!' he yelled back.

'Fuck my throat,' Ghost said in an unusual display of eloquence. 'I'm getting some more.' And with that he walked off, although there was a definite uneven keel to the motion and Dena gathered that the gunner didn't hold his drink all that well. She herself felt only a mild sense of vague light-headedness as the drink took effect, which wasn't really all that unwelcome, and when she moved she was pleased to discover that all her limbs were still obeying her orders. Sparks seemed virtually cold sober, for his part, but she was glad he hadn't decided to wander off and leave her lost in the sea of swaying people.

'Better than program algorithms, eh?' Sparks shouted at her.

'It's growing on me,' she shouted back, but before she could say anything else he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her into the throng. 'What the hell are you doing?'

'Come on, don't they dance on Mars?'

'Not like this!' she exclaimed. 'Besides, I look like an idiot.'

'You don't look like an idiot-'

'I do when I dance!'

'Well then since _everyone_ here looks, as you put it, like an idiot, you're looking like _more_ of an idiot by not joining in. It's called going native, Captain. You might even enjoy it!'

'I _told_ you to stop calling me captain!'

'Then stop acting like one for five goddamn minutes!'

'Fine!' she gave him a shove, which barely made him move an inch, and then shook her head in a vague attempt to clear it somewhat. The _last_ thing she needed tomorrow was a hangover. But the beat, reverberating as it was through the very walls of the cavern and making the clinging stalactites shake, was contagious. Trying to remember her cadet days when looking like an undignified prat hadn't meant anything, she attempted to mimic the movements of the people around her, but only succeeded in reducing Sparks to helpless laughter.

'What?' she spread her arms and glared at him. 'This was your idea, you bastard!'

'You know you wouldn't be half bad if you stopped watching everyone else to make sure you were doing it right,' he said, still half-laughing. 'Here, gimme your hands. Come _on_,' he insisted when she wouldn't. Rolling her eyes, she reluctantly held them out. He took them in his larger ones and stepped back from her a little.

'Move your feet apart. Bit more. Okay. Now stop _thinking_ about what you're doing and just do it.'

She obeyed, trying not to laugh, and in fact was concentrating so hard on _not_ concentrating that she didn't notice he had failed to let go of her hands. Then he started to laugh again and she gave in all thoughts of remaining sober, throwing her arms above her head and letting her entire body sway in time with the booming beat, her eyes sliding closed. They quickly flew open again when she felt Sparks settle his hands on her hips- not grabbing, just lightly resting, but she was aware that the contact brought them, however innocuously, considerably closer together. _Exactly how do you define 'going native', mister?_ Opening her eyes, she rapidly tried to formulate some way of politely yet firmly making it clear this wasn't quite what she had in mind for 'a little R and R' but the moment she did so he was kissing her and for some reason that put the notion clear out of her head. Unable to quite believe what she was doing, she let her eyes slide closed once more and twined her arms around his neck, melting against him as he took a proper hold of her waist to pull her closer still. The heavy drumbeats seemed to somehow fade into a vague background thrumming and the ground under her bare feet became impossibly distant as all thoughts of the _Logos_, the _Gormenghast_, the machines, Phobos base and more or less everything else dissolved into minor considerations.

_That_ was a definition she decided she could live with.


	13. Culture Shock

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: Very short. I just feel the whole aftermath thing deserved a little chapter of its own.**

_Part 13- Culture Shock_

When Dena felt herself drifting towards consciousness again she became aware of a subtle difference from her usual waking surroundings. She was warmer then she ought to be, and the surface she was lying on a little more yielding than the bed in her quarters. More importantly she was unclothed, and could feel both the roughness of the thick-woven blanket over her as well as the feeling of another body lying against her back. Opening her eyes, she also noted that the door was in the wrong place, and the table piled with schematics and circuit diagrams had disappeared completely. She was not, therefore, in her own quarters just beneath the dock level. Furthermore, there was indeed someone lying against her, in fact with one arm around her, and the soft rush of warm breath on the back of her neck. Stirring slightly to try and free one of her hands, she suddenly froze.

_Shit_.

That cider might not have been an intoxicant as such but it was _definitely_ a relaxant and _very_ good at removing inhibitions. She found herself wondering if Ghost had got lucky too and then sighed, forcing herself to relax muscle by muscle, joint by joint. What was done was done, had been far from unpleasant and most certainly fell into the category of R and R. In fact she felt utterly rested and strangely invigorated, and that was before she realised that the dull ache which had become a permanent fixture in her shoulders over recent weeks had vanished altogether.

Feeling Sparks stir, she reached a decision and rolled over only to find that he was already awake. As she turned onto her back he re-angled himself so he was laying half on top of her and gave her a surprisingly playful grin. He _did_ have a lovely smile, she had to admit, and returned it lazily, stretching her arms up and then leaving them trailing above her head.

'So do all tourists get that kind of treatment or am I a special case?'

He gave a short, low laugh.

'I _knew _it.'

'Knew what?'

'I knew there was a woman under there somewhere.'

'And what the _hell_ is that supposed to mean?'

'You know exactly what it's supposed to mean…_Captain_.' He dodged and laughed again when she swatted at him. 'Nice to know you really are human after all.'

'I bet you say that to every girl who drops out of the sky around here.'

'Nah. You're definitely one of a kind.' This time she gave a low chuckle at the same time he did. 'So is this going native or is it just practical research into the customs of a more primitive society?'

'I thought it was called culture shock,' she couldn't resist saying.

'That shocking, huh?'

Her only response was a small affirmative noise as he kissed her again. She slid her hands down his back and then brought them up to tangle in his hair.

'So what now?' he mumbled when their lips parted. She pulled one hand free and groped for her chrono which was laying on the side table.

'Just past oh-five-hundred. I should-'

'Shut up since that gives us almost another whole hour?' he finished puckishly.

'I've got a flight program to finish,' she said firmly.

'Dena, we're already over a whole month ahead of schedule for your goddamned launch date. What the _hell_ are we going to do with ourselves once the _Logos_ is prepped?'

'Once the ship's spaceworthy we start on the crew. You need at least _some_ training or we're just going to get ourselves killed up there.'

'There'll be time.' He dropped his face down to hers and planted a trail of kisses down her neck before speaking again, so close she could feel his mouth moving against her skin. 'I guess I got to make the most of you down here since once you get back up there you'll be off into the black beyond again, huh?'

'What makes you think that?'

'Isn't this just a chance for a spacesider to roll around in the planetary dirt for a while?' There was no bitterness in his tone, just a blunt matter-of-fact statement.

'Recreation without the follow-through?' she said mockingly.

'Well I get the impression I'm not exactly your type,' he shot back.

'Didn't anyone ever tell you that opposites attract?' She took his face in her hands and kissed him deeply. 'You stupid shit.'

'Oh that's it, talk dirty and get me going again. Bitch.'

'Shut your damned mouth, dirtsider.' She flipped over and pushed him down to the bed beneath her, fully intending to put that spare time until 0600 to some further recreational use.


	14. Drilling

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: Check out the technobabble…acquired by watching several episodes of _Star Trek the Next Generation_ and then sort of cannibalising every word Geordi La Forge says…**

_Part 14- Drilling_

'Feedback loop through primary bypass circuit!'

'Initiating shutdown, rerouting through secondary systems- _shit_!'

'Ghost, reboot the main hard drive and stand by to-'

The screens went blank and a dull klaxon blared distantly until Dena climbed up into the cockpit and whacked a control to silence it. Niobe let her head fall back with an exasperated sigh, as did Ghost. Sparks punched the bulkhead in frustration.

'You know I think we should come up with a new procedure for if something like this goes wrong.'

'Namely?' Ghost asked.

'We stick our heads between our legs and kiss our asses goodbye!'

'That's not the attitude that'll get us into orbit, soldier,' Dena said, arching one eyebrow. He rolled his eyes and then stuck his middle finger up at her.

'Okay, so what did we do wrong _this_ time?' Niobe asked wearily.

'Nothing,' Dena informed her. 'Not a damned thing.'

'Then why didn't it work?'

'Because you weren't doing what you were doing fast enough. In orbit the ship is basically in a controlled fall at thousands of kilometres per hour. You've got to keep up with her if you don't want to end up as a smear of atoms all over the ionosphere.' She took a deep breath. 'Okay, let's try another one. Full engine stall.'

'_Full engine stall_?' Niobe echoed in disbelief. 'Hell, there's nothing anybody can do about that!'

'Oh yes there is, Captain.' Dena grinned and then climbed up to seat herself in the second front chair. 'Watch and learn, oh ye of little faith.' Tapping in the sequence for the simulation, she waited for the klaxon to go off and grinned at Sparks' imaginative curse from directly behind her.

'Full engine stall in progress,' Ghost announced, intent on his monitors.

'Confirmed,' Niobe said. 'Overtax on the third and fifth converter valves.'

'Initiate full power cut-off,' Dena ordered.

'What?' Niobe exclaimed.

'Power cut-off in progress,' Sparks put in. 'Flow down to twenty percent…five percent…flow off.'

'Let her run cold,' Dena said, remembering the first time she'd done this particular sub-orbital drill in a proper simulator and wishing they had one in Zion. There was no true replica for the sinking feeling of ten tonnes of lead in your guts that came with an atmospheric engine stall, but the simulator was better than sitting in a stationary cockpit and pretending that something was going on just by watching the screens feed through disaster scenario information.

'Temperature down to neutral,' Ghost announced.

'Okay, open up the power feed again and get her back up to full.' Dena kept her hands on the nav controls just as she would if she was really piloting in this situation.

'Power on,' Sparks said. 'Forty percent…fifty…eighty…power flow at one hundred percent.'

'Hit it!'

Niobe responded to the command by punching the engine igniter set in the ceiling between the two pilots' chairs. The charge handle there had been removed, redundant as it now was with the new energy feed mechanism, but the screens flickered and then stabilised in an appropriately spluttering manner.

'Are we dead again?' Sparks asked.

'No,' Ghost told him, tapping a display. 'Engines back to full. We survived that one.'

'Well I'll be damned.' Niobe looked over at Dena. 'I'm glad you're going to be sitting there when we do this for real- Captain.'

'So'm I,' Dena agreed, grimacing. Was she being too hard on them? The crew of the _Logos_ had made remarkable progress in their literacy of the unfamiliar controls and processes on board an orbit capable ship considering their training thus far consisted of three weeks of sitting in the cockpit and watching screens. The problem was that none of them could now anticipate the behaviour of the _Logos_ and her systems, couldn't jump ahead to make the next three critical decisions so they were ready to implement them when the time came. But that kind of ability came only after four _years_ of Fleet Academy training, and it took a lifetime of piloting and working in spaceflight to reach Dena's own level of expertise. Would the handful of days before the launch window really make that much of a difference?

'I think that'll do for today,' she said. 'Let's get some recharging done, crew.'

'Sounds good to me,' Sparks muttered as they all climbed out and down. Dena remained behind on the dock pad for a moment, deleting the scenario to free up essential processing room for the morrow. He paused for a moment and then walked back, brushing a lock of her hair away to plant a soft kiss on her neck.

'See you at the Temple tonight?'

'Maybe later,' she acknowledge without turning. 'I just want to rerun the diagnostics on the main hard drives one more time.' He sighed.

'Okay. I won't wait up.'

'See you later,' she responded, still not taking her eyes off the display. For several minutes there was a silence around the _Logos_ broken only by the occasional blip from the main interfacing board as the analysis ran.

'You know I've seen that look before.'

Startled, Dena whirled and then broke into a smile.

'Zee? Sorry, didn't see you for a second there.'

'That's all right.' The other woman smiled back. 'I don't think you've seen half of what's going on around here for the past few weeks, huh?'

'I guess not.' Dena put one hand on her hip. 'How's Link?'

Another smile, this one a tad rueful.

'He's fine, s'far as I know. The _Neb_ hasn't been in.'

'Ah.'

'In fact that reminded me of him just now.'

'What did?'

'Sparks.' Zee folded her arms. 'The way he looks at you.'

That made Dena frown.

'What do you mean?'

'The way he _looks_ at you. It's the same way Link looks at me. But…you're not looking back at him the way I look back at Link.' Zee cocked her head with a slightly impish grin. 'He's a nice guy.'

'I know,' Dena admitted. 'He _is_ a nice guy.'

'Too nice? Or maybe you don't like nice guys, huh?'

'I got no problem with nice.'

'Then what _is_ the problem?'

'My problem is that in twelve days I've got to get this heap up in the air with three people who've never seen the sky before, much less the stars.' Dena sighed and shook her head. 'Thing like that doesn't leave time for nice.'

'Well then, maybe you should _find_ time,' Zee said gently. 'Or don't people matter up in space?'

Dena looked at her thoughtfully.

'Once I get back up there I'll think about it.'

'And what if you get up there but something still goes wrong?' Zee's dark eyes seemed to bore holes right through to Dena's soul. 'Don't you feel like there's _anything_ you want to do or say first, just in case?'

Dena glanced away from her, back down at the diagnostic panel. The cycle was a long four hours and barely ten minutes into it, and the chrono already read 1847. She reached out and shut it off. When she turned back Zee was smiling.

'Can I…borrow something from you?'

'Sure you can.' Extending a bangle-laden arm, Zee took her by the hand. 'Come on. The gathering doesn't start for another quarter of an hour.'


	15. Remembering To Live

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: Think it was time to up the pace a bit. To go with the history lesson.**

_Part 15- Remembering To Live_

Dena didn't feel entirely comfortable with having so much of her bare skin on show in a public place- the last time she'd worn anything as brief as the cropped linen blouse and mid-thigh wrap skirt was probably a beachside holiday back on Ganymede during her early childhood. But although she was incredibly and uncharacteristically self-conscious about her appearance, she found that if anything she blended in more than usual with the crowds inside the Temple. Her normal dress, the dark blue-black Fleet uniform, always awarded her with many glances of interest and awe because it marked her undeniably as 'the offworlder.' But now, in what closely approximated the costume of some kind of exotic dancer in her own mind, she was barely getting a second glance.

Well no, that was a lie. She was getting _plenty_ of second glances from the solitary men who noticed her carefully elbowing her way towards the crew ledge. But she was willing to bet they weren't intrigued about her flight engineering qualifications.

Spotting Sparks leaning against the rear wall of the ledge with Ghost, she paused to make the most of the opportunity to get a proper look at him unobserved. He was a full head taller than she was, broad across the chest and shoulders like all the native men of Zion, with long legs and strong, muscular arms. His hair was a dark brown-black, cut to the same few centimetres length all over and mussed as always into rough spikes at all angles. He had a sharp profile full of angles that softened slightly whenever he turned enough for his sapphire blue eyes to catch the light; incredibly expressive eyes, she knew, when he wasn't rolling them in sarcastic exasperation at something he found annoying. His long-fingered hands, adept at dancing over a keyboard at inhuman speeds, curled slightly around his elbows where he stood with his arms folded, his back half turned to her as he listened to his companion speaking.

Breaking into a smile, Dena walked towards them slowly, since she had to be careful to emphasise the sway of her hips as she walked or risk losing the skirt altogether. Ghost's gaze flicked up and she caught his eye with a sly wink.

'I'll be damned,' he remarked quietly. Sparks glanced round and then unabashedly did a double-take.

'Holy shit,' he muttered, eyes wide with scarcely-concealed shock. '_Dena_?'

'Who were you expecting, Niobe?'

'You…' he stopped and shook his head. 'You look incredible.' Regarding her for a moment, he suddenly added, 'What happened to that diagnostic run?'

Smiling ruefully as she closed the distance between them, Dena slid her arms around his waist and then up his back, tilting her face up to his.

'Sparks, I've opped that diagnostic routine over a hundred times these past two weeks alone. If there _is_ any problem, one more run isn't going to find it.'

'Now that's the kind of protocol I like,' he murmured, enfolding her in his arms and bringing his lips to hers.

'I guess you guys aren't planning on looking for the cider,' Ghost observed wryly.

'I think we'll give it a miss tonight,' Sparks said without taking his eyes off Dena's face.

'Then I'll see you tomorrow up in dock.' With a nod to Dena, Ghost moved off into the crowds. Sparks dipped his head and kissed her again; a long, slow kiss that promised good things to come. She felt for his hands and moved them to encircle her waist, settling her own on his upper arms to hold him close to her.

'Why the sudden divergence, Captain?' he asked in a low voice.

'You could say I got an alarm call,' she whispered, dropping her eyes.

'What does that mean?' he held her off him slightly so he could see her face.

'We could all die in this launch, Sparks. _Easily_ die in it.' Sighing heavily, she laid her head against his chest. 'I just got so wrapped up in the possibility of dying I forgot about the living part. I'm sorry.'

He wrapped his arms around her and planted a kiss on the top of her head.

'Hey, it's okay. We all get a little morbid around here sometimes. Goes with the job.' When she looked up at him again and smiled he jerked his head to indicate the rest of the cavern. 'So you good for a dance?'

'Actually,' she said, lifting one hand to finger the collar of his tunic, 'I was hoping we could skip right to the follow-through, if you don't mind.'

His answering grin was all the response she needed.

'What's that noise?'

'Gate opening in a hurry. Must be a ship coming in.' Niobe tossed Dena a grin. 'What's the odds it's the _Neb_?'

'I don't bet on definite uncertainties.'

'Ha! You said it.' She snorted. 'Sometimes I wonder how Morpheus ever stayed sane enough to get himself unplugged in the first place.'

'He's quite sane, Niobe. Most religious fanatics are usually the sanest people in history. Moses, Mohammed, Jesus, Martin Luther King, Dervin Engles-'

'Who?'

'Which one?'

'The last one.'

'Engles? Supposed prophet of Kasei Vallis right back at the beginning of the twenty-second century. Managed to bring the whole solar system to a standstill with his followers' demonstrations at the planetside launch sites and in the end he revolutionised the colonisation process.'

'How so?' Ghost asked.

'Way back then the colonies were like the old penal camps in Australasia. Criminals and nonconformists got sent there to break in the new planets as a way of…repaying their debt to society, I suppose. That was all well and good but most of the 'nominated personnel' didn't have anything like the skills or basic physical endurance needed to get a foothold on a new planet. Half the time the colonies ended up having to be put under martial law and permanent Fleet surveillance to stop them collapsing into anarchy. Engles got the system changed so that selection for the colonies became a privilege, not a punishment.'

'And now?' Sparks wanted to know.

'Now we got people fighting for a chance to get in on a new planet and a whole new bureau of the government got created to sort through the requests and select the right people.'

'And yet you're so sure they'll just hand us a planet gift wrapped, Captain?' this was from Mifune, the head of Zion's APU corps, who was standing with them watching a training session with his latest batch of recruits. Dena liked Mifune, a straightforward and outspoken man who'd have been an asset to whatever walk of life he'd chosen. He didn't have the adventurous streak to be a full-time pilot, but he'd have made a damn good deck crew leader on a supership like the _Gormenghast_.

'I'm sure, sir. Mainly because the mere fact that you all exist, alive and well, defines you as _the right people_,' she replied with a grin.

'I certainly hope so.' He glanced out over the recruits and their mostly as of yet clumsy handling of the giant mechanical APU bodies. 'Training kids to prove green land rather than fight for their lives appeals to me.'

'I think it does to all of us,' Niobe commented. At that moment there was a loud crash that made them all look up and towards the gargantuan gate, which was currently open almost to its full girth to allow the passage of the _Mjolnir_, one of the largest ships in Zion's fleet. She was halfway through the gap at standard docking speed, but her gun turrets had abruptly swivelled around and begun firing back into the tunnels. A glint of silver was followed by a fiery blast and then another loud crash. The APU- manned of course by a full soldier, not a recruit- that stood with both guns aimed at the tunnels to prevent any possible pursuit from getting very far inside, had been hit head-on by a swarm of at least a dozen sentinel machines and toppled down from the walkway to the piping below.

'_Shit_!' Mifune exclaimed, and without further comment leapt over the railing to run towards the formation of trainees, bellowing orders that got lost in the sudden chaos.

'Holy shit, where'd those bastards come from?' Niobe exclaimed. 'Ghost-' but the diminutive gunner was already belting towards the control tower in the centre of the dock to lend a hand to the duty shift who were trying to train their defences on the unexpected invaders.

'What do we do?' Dena shouted.

'Duck and cover!' Sparks hollered back. 'Mifune's men'll handle it!'

She was about to obey, seeing that half of the intruding squids were already down, when she spotted one halt, spin in midair and then suddenly shoot out along the walkway.

It was headed straight for the _Logos_.

Her next move was made without conscious or rational thought of any kind. She jumped over the railing and sprinted towards the little ship, pausing only to pick up one of the heavy pulse rifles that lay in charging cradles around the dock, put there for that very purpose. Legs pumping, she fired wildly- missing by a considerable margin, but making the sentinel pull up sharply and turn towards her instead.

'_You get away from her, you fucking machine_!' she screamed, skidding to a halt and hefting the heavy rifle properly in both hands, aiming squarely at the red-eyed head as it arrowed itself towards her at an impossible speed. Reflexively she squeezed the trigger and a blast of electrical energy shot out, engulfing the thing moments before it hit her. It reeled backwards, limbs flailing wildly, and she fired again just as a single one of those metallic tentacles lashed out and caught her squarely in the chest, hurling her into the air and backwards almost six metres before she hit the floor. She heard the gun land with a dull thud a short distance away, heard someone scream her name, and then darkness took her.


	16. It's Over

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: Oh dear. Again very short, but the scene needed its own chapter.**

_Part 16- It's Over_

A soft thrum of a vitals monitor roused Dena to a room that was half in darkness. She shifted slightly, aware that she was lying on her back on a harder surface than usual, fully clothed but covered by a light blanket. Opening her eyes and blinking them clear, she was surprised to see none other than Lock sitting on a stool beside her.

'Commander-' her voice sounded strange in her own ears. She tried to sit up and was pleased to discover that her body responded readily to her orders, but he lay a hand on her shoulder and forced her back down.

'Rest easy, Captain.'

'Sir, what happened?'

'The _Hammer_ had some pursuit when she was coming in to recharge. Roland thought he lost it but they came back out of nowhere, dropped down from a support line or some damned thing once the gate was open.'

'The situation, sir?'

'Under control, Captain. The APUs and tower guns took them down. Minimal damage and, I'm glad to say, no loss of life. A few injuries, of which yours were the most serious.' At her look he patted her shoulder again. 'You're going to be fine, Captain. We've just been waiting for you to wake up.'

She waited for a moment but he only folded his hands and stared down at them. That was a look she'd seen before on a commanding officer's face and it sent a chill through her.

'Sir? The- the _Logos_?'

'She's fine. Not even a scratch on her hull.'

Relief washed over Dena but his face was still grave.

'Then sir-' she stopped when he pressed something into her hand. Propping herself semi-upright and looking at it, she found that it was the magnetic chrono that she'd set on the bulkhead of the _Logos_' main deck at the beginning of the refitting process. The display, which the last time she'd looked at it read twelve days and eighteen hours until the end of the launch window, now showed in pale blue figures the remaining time of nine hours and twenty-eight minutes.

'Holy shit,' she whispered.

'You've been unconscious for the better part of thirteen days, Captain,' Lock said blankly. He sighed and examined his hands again. 'The _Logos_ is fine but she couldn't take off without a pilot.'

'Niobe could've handled her-'

'Not into orbit!' He glared at her. 'Niobe's the best pilot I've ever seen, but even _she_ can't take a ship into space with no experience and no knowledge of what to expect up there.'

'No,' Dena whispered, clenching her hand so tightly around the chrono she fully expected it to shatter.

'It was a great dream, Captain,' Lock said bleakly, staring impassively at the vitals monitor in front of him. 'And I was truly prepared to watch it unfold. But it was only a dream.' Standing, he touched her shoulder again briefly and met her gaze with true regret in his dark eyes. 'I'm sorry, Captain. It's over.'

Dena squeezed her eyes closed and then briefly opened them again to look at the chrono display. _Nine hours and twenty-six minutes_. The Prospector IV would be in space by now, powering her way back to Phobos laden with rock specimens and core samples. In just over nine hours she would be beyond her limited spatial scanning range of Earth. Gone. And with her went all chance of contacting Fleet- and Niobe's flower garden. _It's_ _over_.

She opened her eyes and levelled a gaze at Lock that held all the acquiescence of solid steel.

'Like hell it's over.'

Swinging her legs out of the bed, she found her boots and stamped her feet into them, reaching for her sleeveless overjacket and flinging it on while snapping the boot clasps shut with her other hand.

'What in the hell d'you think you're doing?' Lock demanded, snapping out of whatever reverie had taken him to grab her arm as she made for the door. But this time it was he who flinched back from a darkened gaze that bored down into his soul. Dena pulled her arm free and spoke in a level tone that was edged with diamonds.

'Keeping a promise. _Sir_.'


	17. Hit It!

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: Again, totally useless made-up technical jargon. My apologies to those of you with flight qualifications.**

_Part 17- Hit it!_

The dock looked the same as it always had, but then after fourteen days any minor damage the sentinels had caused would have long been repaired. The _Logos_ still stood on her props on the same pad, but now without the cluster of technicians and flight mechanics constantly checking and rechecking her systems and hull integrity. Dena could see she hadn't been touched at all, in fact, and so she was ready. As ready as she'd ever be, in fact.

'Dena! _Dena_!' She glanced back in time to see Sparks racing down the walkway towards her. 'My god, you're awake, you're- what the _hell_ are you doing?' He skidded to a halt as she climbed into the cockpit and slammed the chrono up where the ignition charged had once been, then climbed back down and went to the uplink station, recalling the finalised flight program and slamming the download control. The timer read for six minutes. Then she strode across and flipped the heavy power transfer switch, studying the readout before turning back to him.

'Sparks, you've got exactly seven minutes to find Niobe and Ghost and get them up here ready to fly.'

'_What_?' He grabbed her wrist to prevent her checking a display. 'Dena, that's crazy! The window's gone, it's finished. Don't think I'm sorry, I am, but that's _it_. We're done.'

'No we're not.' She pointed at the chrono where it sat ticking in the cockpit. 'We've got just over nine hours to get out of the tunnels and in the air. I've got an appointment with that Prospector mission, Sparks, and I'm damned if I'm missing it now.'

'Dena-' he began, but she whirled and grabbed his wrist instead when he let go of hers.

'I am _not_ going to die down here.'

'You're serious,' he said quietly.

'You bet I'm damned serious.' She let go of him. 'We're going to need a crew if we're going orbital in this heap.'

He stared at her for a long moment. Then, amazingly, he gave a single sharp nod and jogged towards the control tower. Dena took a deep breath and returned her attention to the gauges. Air tanks were at maximum capacity. Final software download was complete and the storage cells were at forty percent charge and rising steadily with nary a glitch in sight. When she next looked around she found Mifune standing there with an amazed looking tech crew hovering behind him.

'I hear you're preparing to launch, Captain Reese.'

'That I am, Captain Mifune.'

He nodded and then glanced back to see Niobe and Ghost racing along the walkway, joined by Sparks at a cross section from the control tower.

'And there's your crew.' He levelled his gaze at her again. 'I hope you make it.'

'So do I, sir.' She turned away to look at Niobe as the trio arrived on the pad. 'Ready?'

'As ready as I'll ever be,' she replied with quiet determination. Dena jerked her head at the cockpit and the other captain nodded, jogging towards it and climbing up the ladder to find her chair, followed by the two men.

'Good luck,' Mifune added, reaching out to give Dena's shoulder a squeeze. His voice dropped. 'Find me those green lands, Captain.'

She responded by gripping his shoulder tightly, then stepped back and threw him a smart salute. To her surprise he returned it and then glanced back at the still-hovering technicians, his tone shifting to a commanding bark as she made her way to the cockpit.

'What the shit are you waiting for, you _idiots_? Get that cockpit sealed or this ship ain't going anywhere, let alone into orbit!'

'If I didn't know better I'd say he thought we were going to make it,' Niobe said, pulling off her overtunic to reveal a thinner vest underneath and then fastening the seat straps across herself. She glanced at Dena. 'How long do we have?'

Dena reached up and plucked the chrono from the ceiling, replacing it on the dashboard instead.

'Nine hours, three minutes as of now. How fast can you get us to the surface?'

'Fast enough.' When she was given a wary look Niobe gave a surprisingly confident grin. 'I'll handle the tunnels, Dena. You just worry about getting us off this rock afterwards.'

'Agreed.' Dena held out a hand, palm up. Niobe regarded it for a moment and then slapped her own palm on top. They gripped hands for a moment and then let go to put on the headsets as the tech crew moved away from sealing the cockpit to let them launch.

'Zion Control, this is the _Logos_ requesting immediate clearance for takeoff through Gate Three,' Niobe said once they were gone. The reply filtered through, the steady voice of a dock operator.

'_Logos_, this is Zion Control. Gate three now opening, please stand by.'

'Come on, come on,' Dena muttered, painfully aware that every precious second that ticked away put the Prospector IV further and further out of scanning range. Finally the voice appeared again, but it was not the voice of the operator. It was Lock.

'_Logos_ you are cleared for takeoff through Gate Three. Good luck.'

'Acknowledged, Control. _Logos_ out.' Niobe gave Dena a tight smile and then reached for the controls. The deck beneath them started up a steady thrumming noise as the power cells came online.

'Atmospheric thrusters at full power,' Sparks intoned. 'Good to go, Captain.'

'All right baby, let's go,' Niobe muttered, more to the _Logos_ than to him. With a surge of speed the little ship seemed to spring from the pad and hurtle towards the beckoning gloom of the tunnels. 'Holy shit, but she's full of beans.'

'Welcome to the year 3422, Captain,' Dena replied calmly as the slit of light from the gates of Zion receded gradually on the rear monitors until it became a distant speck and then vanished altogether.

'I hadn't really appreciate just how far down Zion is,' Ghost remarked some time later. 'You hear the numbers in kilometres and it doesn't mean anything until you try drawing a straight line from the dock to the surface.'

'We should be out in a couple more minutes,' Niobe said. 'How long on the clock, Dena?'

'Five hours and twenty-three minutes,' Dena replied, inwardly wincing. 'How're the engines holding, Sparks?'

'Looking great, actually. Heat dissipation normal, power flow at full strength, the works. But we're generating one hell of a hot signal. Once we get to the surface and stop all this acrobatic stuff every sentinel on the _planet_'s going to be swarming our way.'

'Don't worry,' Dena told him. 'Once we get to the surface we fire up the launch engines and there isn't a junk bucket on this planet that'll be able to catch us then.'

'Let's hope you're right, since we don't have any guns any more,' Ghost said, then sat up. 'Temperature's dropping. Surface readings coming up on scope. We're almost there.'

Dena took a breath and needlessly checked her seat straps.

'All right, Sparks, start warming up the launch engines. Let's get her nice and souped up before we start hitting any accelerator coils.'

'Blue on that.' His casual use of the Zion equivalent to _affirmative_ made her smile despite herself. 'Okay, main power feed is online. Looking good, except for the aforementioned squiddy magnetism.'

'I told you, don't worry about it.' Dena felt the _Logos_ shudder slightly as Niobe throttled back, adjusting their course slightly to take the ship almost vertically upwards between two towering metal walls in some ancient artificial canyon. Then they were clear and the bleak, featureless grey landscape stretched away in every direction as far as Dena cared to look.

'Scope?' she asked.

'Clear for now,' Ghost said.

'Good. Sparks?'

'Everything's hot and ready for action. Power flow at one hundred percent, coolant pressure steady, coil integrity normal.' He exhaled. 'We're ready to go.'

'Transferring primary navigation control to your station,' Niobe intoned, having halted the ship to hover some three hundred metres above the surface. She looked at Dena and gave a small, almost sad smile. 'Okay Captain, she's all yours.'

Dena smiled back as reassuringly as she could and settled her hands on the controls just as an alert went off.

'We've got company,' Ghost barked.

'Shit,' Niobe muttered. 'How many?'

'Fift- no- my god. There are hundreds of them.'

'With the field we're generating I'm not damn surprised,' Sparks said. 'Can we outrun them?'

'We're just about to,' Dena said firmly, programming in the exit trajectory to point the nose of the _Logos_ skywards, filling the windshield with a view of the black, crackling clouds.

'That's one steep angle,' Niobe remarked, and Dena caught an edge of nervousness in her tone.

'This time, Niobe, what goes up is definitely _not_ coming down. Sparks?'

'Yeah?'

'Hit it!'

He punched the controls for the primary engine feed and she shoved the accelerator forwards, feeling the Gs push her back hard into the scantly-padded seat. The clouds came rocketing towards them at incredible speeds and she had to grin to herself- exit velocity never seemed so damned fast before.

'Speed?' she barked.

'Eight hundred kph and rising!' Sparks yelled back over the roar of the engines as the power feed reached its peak. Dena gave a whoop of delight as the cloud layer engulfed them, causing the _Logos_ to start shuddering and shaking like a mad dog.

'Structural integrity down to ninety percent!' she heard Ghost shout, followed by Niobe's dim mutter.

'Come on baby, don't let me down now.'

'Eighty percent!' Ghost shouted again.

Then the billows of black fog gave way and they all squinted as the cockpit was assaulted by a blaze of sunlight and the glare of bright blue sky dotted with wisps of whiter cloud. Dena gripped the controls to keep the _Logos_ on course and tried in vain to ignore the astonished gasps of her companions. Then it occurred to her that none of them- especially Sparks, who hadn't even beheld a mockery of it inside the Matrix- had ever seen blue sky or sunlight before.

'My god,' Niobe whispered in awe. 'It's so beautiful…'

'It's about to get a whole lot bigger,' Dena told her. However at that moment the howl of the engines died abruptly and she could feel their momentum slowing. 'What the-'

'Full engine stall in progress,' Ghost announced, unflappable as always.

'Con- confirmed,' Niobe managed. 'Overtax on the fourth converter valve.'

'Power cut-off in progress,' Sparks said in a remarkably calm voice before anyone could give the order. 'Flow down to fifteen percent…six percent…flow off.'

There was a second of terrifying silence while Dena felt the _Logos_ slowing more and more…

'Temperature down to neutral,' Ghost said at last.

'Power on,' Sparks responded immediately. 'Forty percent…fifty…eighty…power flow at one hundred percent.'

'Hit it!' Dena yelled.

Niobe reached up and punched the igniter just as they started to go nose down into a fall back towards the sooty blanket below. Blessedly the engines snarled to life again and Dena hauled the _Logos_ back up almost to a full ninety degrees. This time the gallant little ship didn't falter, pushing on further and further until the blue sky began to darken and then gave way entirely to a field of infinite ebony dotted with stars. Dena didn't pause, firing the manoeuvring thrusters in sequence until the _Logos_ had settled into orbit with the starfield on the port side, darkened by the looming hulk of the Moon, and the grey, mist-shrouded planet to starboard. Then she tapped up the appropriate set of controls on her main screen and brought the jury-rigged environmental systems online, bleeding the heat from the engines into the cockpit and activating the air flow from the storage tanks. Only once that was done did she dare to look at Niobe. The other woman's face was radiant, her eyes shining in wonder at the panorama before her. A glance back revealed Sparks and Ghost to be in a similar state and brought a sad, bitter smile to Dena's face. How she cursed those long-dead so-called leaders of humanity who'd scorched their sky and left such a legacy for their descendents. Damn them, for eternity!

'Welcome to the sky, Captain,' she said softly. Niobe tore her eyes away from the stars and smiled at her- a real smile of pure happiness that almost brought tears to Dena's eyes.

'My god,' she whispered. 'Even if I die now I think I've lived just long enough. To see _this_…'

'Don't write yourself off just yet, Niobe,' Dena forced herself to say. 'You got a garden to grow, remember? And now's the hard part. Ghost, can you give me the estimate on air yet?'

She heard him stir and tap his screen.

'Consumption gives approximately four hours remaining.'

'Okay.' She settled back. 'Nobody undo their straps. You guys haven't had any zero-g training and the last thing I need you doing is spinning round the place and hurling your guts out.'

'Feels weird,' Niobe agreed. 'Like I left half my stomach back on Earth.'

'Back on Earth…' Dena heard Sparks echo softly, and glanced back at him. His gaze briefly flicked to meet hers and she caught the merest hint of an elated smile on his lips before he returned his attention to the vista that surrounded them.

'The planet doesn't look like it did in the Matrix,' Ghost observed.

'No it doesn't,' Niobe agreed. 'I remember it being…bluer. Less dead looking.' She shook her head and turned grim again. 'It's like a goddamned burnt out cinder.'

'You wait until you see Mars,' Dena assured her. 'That's anything but burnt-out.'

'I look forward to it.' The smile returned.

'What do we do now?' Sparks asked.

'Now we wait.' Dena closed her eyes, saying a silent prayer to whatever higher powers were listening that after coming this far their work would not be in vain.

'Wait?' he echoed.

'Wait,' Niobe confirmed. Her voice turned wistful. 'And hope.'


	18. Contact

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: Er…**

_Part 18- Contact_

Three hours and fourteen minutes later there was still nothing. The cockpit had fallen quiet in the ensuing time as Ghost, Niobe and Sparks just sat drinking in the sight around them and Dena fell to frantically going over the situation in her mind.

The Prospector _should_ still be within sensor range. They _should_ still be making sweep scans, adhering to Fleet protocol when passing _any_ planet, inhabited or otherwise. This all taken, it would only be a matter of time before they detected the unusual orbiting object and, also according to Fleet protocol, came to investigate.

Unless she'd miscalculated, or a chronometer malfunction meant that an error in timing had caused them to miss the Prospector altogether. Mifune's words drifted back to haunt her as she'd feared they would.

_Training kids to prove green land rather than fighting for their lives…find me those green lands, Captain_.

'I'm sorry,' she heard herself whisper, causing Niobe to look over at her sharply.

'What is it?'

Dena shook her head and was about to say it again when Ghost suddenly leaned forward and pointed.

'Look at that!'

They all followed his finger.

'A shooting star,' Niobe murmured. Dena narrowed her eyes and then felt them widen in shock.

'That's no star, Niobe. Sparks! Feed power through to the communications equipment.'

He hastily complied as Dena pulled her headset back into the proper position.

'Is that it?' Niobe exclaimed. 'That's the Prospector?'

'Whatever it is it's going to find out we're here if I have to climb onto the roof and flag it down by hand,' Dena muttered. 'Sparks!'

'Com's online.'

'Set to broadcast to the widest range possible.'

'Done.' By now all of them had tuned in their headsets to listen, although so far there was nothing but vague static. Dena took a deep breath.

'Unknown vessel, this is the _Logos_ in orbit around Terra. Do you read? Over.'

Nothing.

'Repeat, this is the _Logos_ to unknown vessel on course toward Mars, _do you read_? Over.'

There was a long silence, then a burst of static and a high-pitched whine. A faint voice cackled through.

'_Logos_, this is the Prospector IV. We read you but there is a lot of interference on the band. Repeat, we read you but there is high interference on your band.'

Ghost, Niobe and Sparks erupted into whoops of triumph. Dena wanted to join them but forced herself to keep her voice steady.

'Prospector, we are running on maximum power available. Can you provide extra boost at your end? Over.'

There was more static, then the voice came through louder and much clearer.

'Affirmative to that _Logos_. We're reading you in orbit around Terra bearing three-two-one mark zero-four-six. May I ask what you're doing there? Over.'

'As a matter of fact, _Prospector_, we're looking for you. Thought you weren't going to show for a while there but it's damn good to hear you,' Dena replied. 'Over.'

'Glad we didn't disappoint. All right, we have you on sensors.' A pause. 'Great Maker, what sort of heap of shit _are_ you, _Logos_? Over.'

'Tell him not to call my ship a heap of shit,' Niobe said with mock venom, but luckily only Dena's headset was currently set to transmit.

'She's a bit of a jury rig, _Prospector_, but she's done us all right. Over.'

'That's a polite way to put it. Can we know who we're addressing please? Over.'

'Affirmative. This is Captain Dena Reese of the HSS _Gormenghast_ along with some friends I made planetside. Over.' Chew on _that_, Dena thought.

'Captain Reese?' There was a brief pause and then a different voice came on.

'Captain Reese, this is Captain Benjamin Kennedy of the _Prospector IV_. You were presumed dead over six months ago, Captain. Care to explain to me how in hell you're still breathing? Over.'

'I would indeed, Captain Kennedy, but unfortunately we have slightly less than forty minutes of air left and so if you don't mind perhaps the small talk can wait until later. Over.'

'_Shit_, Reese, you're running on _tanks_? Stand by, we're relaying your signal to base.'

'Acknowledged, _Prospector_, standing by.' Dena waited with her heart in her mouth until there was another burst of static which vanished as the mining ship boosted the relayed signal from Phobos with their own equipment.

'_Logos_, this is Phobos Base, please identify.'

'Yessir, this is Captain Dena Reese attached to HSS _Gormenghast_-' she stopped when there were sounds of a scuffle at the other end. 'Are you reading, Phobos Base? Over.'

'DENA?'

The voice made her break into a grin.

'Yes sir, Commander. It's me. Over.'

'Great Maker! We thought you were dead! What's your current position, Captain? Over.'

'Sitting,' she replied with a wink at Niobe. 'Currently in orbit around Terra, Commander. And we're on tanked air running a little low right now, so a pickup would be much appreciated. Over.'

'How long do you have? Over.'

Ghost mouthed the figure at her.

'Thirty eight minutes, sir. Over.'

Pryce evidently had the mouthpiece of his comset covered since there was a short delay before he replied.

'Acknowledged, _Logos_. Pickup is on its way. The _Prospector_ will remain in her current position for further communications if they're required. Did you say _we_, Captain? Over.'

'Yes sir. We the plural, not the royal. I've got three crewmates with me. Over.'

'Where in the hell did you find three other people? Over.'

'A long story, Commander. Most of it's in my report but I think you'll be very eager to meet them when you find out. They're certainly eager to meet you, sir. Over.'

'I'm intrigued, Captain. Pickup is three minutes from your position. I'll see you soon. Over.'

'I hope so sir. _Logos_ out.'

'My god,' Niobe said, a grin of almost childish excitement splitting her face. 'We're really going to Mars?'

Dena laughed, joyously, at her.

'Blue on that, Niobe. _Definitely_ blue on that.'


	19. Phobos Base

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: Might seem like a bit of waffle, but it's all in the name of plot. Promise.**

_Part 19- Phobos Base_

The moment the Phobos deck crew cut them out of the _Logos_ where she was sealed into the retrieval ship _Oregon_ Dena felt as though all she wanted to do was kiss everyone in the room. A medic produced a scanner and gave them a thorough going-over before they were let out of the holding dock with a reluctant pronouncement of complete health and no carried diseases. Then a small Fleet base team of three lightly armed troopers escorted the quartet up to a debriefing room. Sitting at the table inside was Commander Pryce and, to Dena's shock, Admiral Fobson who commanded the whole of Phobos surface base. She stopped and saluted smartly just inside the door.

'Enough of that, Captain,' Fobson said. 'I think we ought to be saluting _you_, judging by the story I think we're about to hear.' Then his gaze fell on the three Terrans standing rather sheepishly behind her. 'By the holy Maker and his sacred children, Captain. Where in the _hell_ did you manage to find three _living_ human beings in that unholy part of the solar system?'

'On Terra, sir.'

He stared at her so she stepped aside to permit the others into the room and then gestured to each in turn.

'Admiral Fobson, may I present Captain Niobe of the _Logos_ and her crew, first mate Ghost and ship's operator Sparks. Captain, gentleman, this is Admiral Fobson of Fleet command on Phobos and Commander Pryce of the HSS _Gormenghast_.'

'And exactly what fleet is the _Logos_ a part of, may I ask?' the Admiral demanded incredulously, looking directly at Niobe.

'The defence fleet of the city of Zion, Admiral,' she replied without so much as blinking. Pryce and Fobson extended looks of scarcely concealed amazement.

'Sit down, all of you,' Pryce said at last, glancing at the yeoman in the corner. 'Make sure you get all this on the recorder, Harris. It may well be a historical document in the making.'

'Aye sir.'

'So, Captain,' Fobson said, sitting back in the chair and folding his arms. 'Perhaps you had best begin with explaining what the heck you've done with or to the _Mariposa_.'

It was almost two hours later when Dena finished speaking. The two officers had listened intently to every word, stopping her only very occasionally to ask questions or request elaboration of certain points. When she was finally done Fobson folded his arms again and exhaled in a long, low whistle.

'Sir?' she queried.

'I think the Admiral is of the same opinion I am, Captain,' Pryce said. 'Which is that if you hadn't got yourself into orbit _in_ and be sitting next _to_ your proof, I'd say that was the biggest cock and bull story I'd ever heard. Given the present situation, however, that of course clearly is not the case.'

'Indeed.' Fobson sat up again and leaned forward, this time addressing the Terrans directly. 'Captain Niobe, gentlemen, given what I have just heard, if I were your commander I'd give you all bloody medals and the highest possible commendation in your records. However since your fleet evidently doesn't have such resources available I'll have to settle for a sincere congratulations and my personal opinion that you are quite possibly three of the bravest people I have ever had the honour to meet.' He grinned and then gave a short laugh. 'Now I've made you all blush, let's talk business. High Command planetside will clearly require consultation, as will the Congress, but I think for once everyone will absolutely agree that immediate and decisive action is required.' He glanced at Pryce. 'Commander, the _Gormenghast_ is currently docked on Orbital awaiting colony personnel, is she not?'

'Yes sir.' Pryce grimaced. 'Government screening still has yet to give us even a preliminary list of names. I think we can consider ourselves at your disposal for the time being.'

'Admiral,' Dena said quickly.

'Yes, Captain, what is it?'

She glanced at Niobe and then took a deep breath. _Find me those green lands, Captain_.

'Sir, is D-441 still vacant?'

'In the Capella system? Yes, it is. As a matter of fact when- and _if_- the watchdogs ever manage to bleed some suitable colony material out of the sorry lot of latest applicants that's where the _Gormenghast_ will be headed, Captain. Why do you ask?'

'Sir, there are two hundred and fifty thousand people down in Zion who have survived for countless generations in conditions substandard to even a brand new foothold mining platform. What better prospective colonists for D-441 do we _need_, sir?'

'Great Maker,' Pryce said.

'Balderdash,' Fobson retorted. 'The Captain is absolutely right. And as head of Phobos Base I have discretion for all local Fleet emergency situations. I think Terra counts as local, don't you Commander?'

Pryce grinned at him.

'It'll do me, sir.'

'Then get that haulier of yours ready for launch. Top priority. Equip to evacuate quarter of a million persons in the shortest amount of time with the least possible loss of life on all sides. Except the machines, of course.'

'Sir, I would advise armament of all drop ships,' Dena put in. The Admiral nodded.

'Of course. Commander, advise all your personnel to expect to engage hostiles. I believe we have a few cruisers sitting in dock whom you can enlist for extra people and firepower if you need to. At present this is code yellow and we all know what that means.' Standing, he accepted the datapad containing Dena's written report which she had placed on the table. 'I'll have this sent off to High Command in a jiffy, Captain. And my my, what fun the Congress is going to have with this. Captain Niobe?'

'Yes, Admiral?' Niobe said, quickly giving him her full attention.

'I regret that despite the efficiency I am used to commanding at this base our forces will not be available for deployment for an evacuation of this scale inside of twelve hours.'

'We've survived for a hundred years, Admiral.' Niobe smiled. 'I think we can stand another twelve hours with no problem.'

'Hmm, yes. But there are other considerations. These ships of yours, for instance. If we're trying to evacuate you the last thing we need is half your organised personnel scattered throughout the planet. How long would it take to recall them all?'

'I'm…I'm not sure, sir. It's never been done before.' Niobe shook her head a few times and then glanced at her crewmates for suggestions.

'Hundred and fifty ships,' Sparks said in a low voice. 'Say furthest away is BC-21. Top speed recall for all of them, I'd hazard four, maybe six hours all told?'

'Sounds about right.' She looked at Fobson. 'Maximum about six hours, Admiral.'

'Then we've no time to lose.' He rose and walked over to press a wall button. 'Ops centre.'

'Peters here sir.'

'Have the _Voltaire_ prepare for launch within the half hour. And get Captain Estalla on my office screen, I'll brief him from there. Out.' He looked back at the table. 'Here's the plan, ladies and gentlemen. The cruiser _Voltaire_ will make Earth orbit within the hour and establish contact with the surface. On the _Voltaire_ will be the crew of the _Logos_ along with Captain Reese. Your job, Captain, in co-operation with Estalla and his officers, is to get Zion ready for evacuation. That'll mean setting up a proper communications channel and getting word to the city's command centre to recall all ships and have their population packed and ready to go. I also want as much tactical information as possible on these machines, particularly those sentinel things, in case the evacuation should necessitate open combat. In the meantime I shall be pulling strings with High Command and the Congress as much as I can by use of this debriefing and Captain Reese's report.' He gave the three Terrans a bright smile that was reassuring without being patronising. 'I've only met three Zionites, but I like your people already. I intend to see that you get that planet.'

'Thank you Admiral, sir,' Niobe had the presence of mind to say.

'All right. We haven't got a moment to lose. You have your orders Captain, Commander. Implement them.' He turned and left without further comment, the yeoman scurrying after him. Pryce rose and came around the table to stand in front of Dena. She stood up and accepted the clap on her shoulder with a grin.

'Good grief, Dena, but you never do things by halves, do you?'

'I try not to, sir.'

He laughed.

'In this case I'm glad. Very glad.' The laugh faded. 'I can't tell you what it was like, thinking you were dead, Captain. I shall of course notify your squadron, who I'm sure would throw you a ridiculously boisterous welcome back party if only we didn't have a planet to evacuate.'

'There'll be time for that later, sir.'

'I sincerely hope so.' He glanced briefly at Niobe and the others before continuing. 'Get over to the _Voltaire_ right away, she's in fifteen on level four. Their exec should have a minimal briefing of what's going on by now and I'm sure the Admiral is giving Estalla the full story as we speak. Get one of the drop ships outfitted for a rough ride and possible combat so you can get back to the ground. And don't _crash_ this time.'

'I wasn't intending to, sir. But may I request one thing?'

'You may,' he said guardedly.

'Sir, may we borrow Lieutenant Maloney? I've good reason to believe there's a potential on the surface and I'd like to get Psi on the job ASAP.'

'Good idea. And yes, I'll send him over.' He extended a hand and she shook firmly. 'Good luck, Captain. It's good to have you back.'

'It's good to be back, sir.'

He smiled once more, nodded to the _Logos_ crew and then departed. Dena turned around to find Niobe shaking her head.

'Something wrong?'

'I just don't believe it. All this…' she stood and gestured helplessly with her hands to indicate the entire room, the entire _station_, then planted them on her hips. 'And I certainly didn't expect the whole place to start falling over themselves to help us.'

'It's called humanity, Niobe. You'll get used to it.' Dena grinned at her and jerked her head at the door. 'C'mon, let's skedaddle over to that cruiser and give Westan a shock.'

'And just who is Westan?' Sparks asked as they set off down the corridor.

'Mark Westan. Exec on the _Voltaire_. We were in the Academy together but he switched tracks to operations management and missed his promotion. He's bucking for a department captaincy on a supership- and has been for the last seven years.' They rounded a corner to a lift shaft and she punched the command for dock area fifteen on station level four.

'Old Academy buddy, huh?'

'Yup. Has almost the same bottomless capacity for drink as you do, Ghost. I lost count of the number of times we carried him back to the dorm.'

'Sounds colourful,' Niobe said.

'He's a damn good exec. Not sure how he'd function under a command position but then that's not my problem.'

'Is it me,' Sparks said suddenly. 'Or is this elevator moving _sideways_?'

'Phobos is twenty eight kilometres in diameter at its widest point, Sparks,' Dena said to him. 'These transport shafts wouldn't speed things up much if they only moved vertically.'

As she finished speaking the doors opened to reveal dock four-fifteen. As if on cue, the three Terrans gasped in amazement at the size of the cruiser parked there. She was easily as long as the residential quarters of Zion were deep, and at least sixty metres tall. Currently she was surrounded by a swarm of technicians and suited dock crews scurrying to get her launch ready. Dena led her charges confidently through the horde straight to the main boarding hatch only to find a yeoman standing there who threw her a crisp salute.

'Permission to come aboard, mister,' she said, returning it.

'Granted, ma'am, and welcome. Captains Reese and Niobe?'

'That's us,' Dena said, giving a shocked-looking Niobe a wink.

'The bridge is expecting you, Captains. This way please.'

The bridge, command centre of the cruiser, was situated in the centre at the very top of the cruiser's massive bulk. It was a hub of bustling activity and the second they arrived the four were greeted by a tall, thin man carrying a datapad. He shook each hand in turn.

'Captain Reese.'

'Lieutenant Westan.'

'Still rubbing it in, Dena?' He laughed. 'We're about six minutes off launch. Captain Estalla is in his office, he just finished his briefing with the Admiral. Also there's a Lieutenant Maloney just arrived from the _Gormenghast_, apparently at your request.'

'That's right. We'll just go disturb their chinwag.' Motioning to the _Logos_ crew, she was about to lead them across when the door opened and two figures came out.

'Ah, Captain Reese.' Arjen Estalla was a lean but muscular fellow, very tall with chin length black hair and a scrubbed beard, along with very calm-looking grey eyes. 'And Captain…Niobe, I believe?'

'Yes sir,' Niobe said. The two words were all she seemed to currently be capable of.

'Lieutenant Maloney tells me his presence was requested,' Estalla added, indicating the imposing coffee-skinned man behind him.

'It was sir.' Dena nodded to Kerry. 'I've reason to believe there is an ESP potential on the surface.'

'On ol' Terra?' Kerry's voice was light and merry, not at all matching his appearance. 'Well ain't that the darndest thing. Thanks for letting me join you, Captain.' His eyes danced with amusement and excitement at the prospect of something different to exercise his unusual talents upon.

'Do we have a game plan, Captain?' Dena asked Estalla. He nodded.

'We'll clear Phobos minimal distance and then make an FTL jump to Earth orbit, then geosync over the co-ordinates your report provided. That's smashing some regulations but given the circumstances I think we'll be safe from a court-martial. That should put us right above Zion. A considerable _distance_ above, granted the underground nature of the city, but nevertheless…we're going to dispatch scuttlebugs at ten kilometre intervals down and one on the surface if we can. That should boost our com signal enough to remove the interference from that noxious gas layer that's making itself so inconvenient. Once we establish contact with Zion and determine their current situation I think, Captain, it might be a good idea for you to take a drop ship down along with your associates here and Lieutenant Maloney. You can take hard copies of the evac plan with you to save us transmitting such information in a datastream and risking signal degradation or, ah, _interception_ by hostile forces. I have a deck crew readying a drop ship now, including guns. You'll need a gunner, of course-'

'If I may, sir,' Dena interrupted, 'We have a gunner.' She indicated Ghost. 'Show this man where the triggers and the crosshairs are and believe me, he can keep our tail clean. And it might be a good idea to minimise the number on the first drop.' When he frowned she continued. 'Zion isn't full of the kind of people inclined to mass panic, Captain, but as we're all aware rumours spread like wildfire and easily get out of control. Once we establish contact and I drop with the crew and Maloney it'll be possible to get the situation explained and start organising it down there.' She was relieved when he nodded.

'Good thinking, Captain. Certainly you know the lay of the land better than I do. Captain Niobe, would you agree with Captain Reese's estimation?'

'Yes sir,' Niobe said, seeming surprised to be asked. 'Once we're down we can get the people together and explain what's going on. That'll keep things under control and make the situation more manageable for everyone who's involved.'

'Then that's settled.' Estalla strode across to the centre of the room and consulted a screen. 'Mr Westan, prepare for FTL to Terran orbit on my mark.'

'I thought we had to get out of the dock first?' Sparks hissed to Dena.

'We're ten thousand klicks out from Phobos already, Sparks,' she replied, unable to help find his shock rather amusing.

'Jump in three…two…one…_mark_.'

As she always did during FTL Dena closed her eyes to avoid having to see the way the room swum out of focus and seemed to vaguely distort its own dimensions. After counting to five, the maximum time any and all FTL jumps took, she opened them again to see all three of the _Logos_ crew looking a little unsteady.

'It takes you like that the first time,' Maloney said in a buck-up tone. Dena tuned in to what was going on around her, hearing the orders for dispatching scuttlebugs being issued. She heard Estalla say her name and crossed the room to where he was standing by the main com station. Niobe and the others followed.

'Surface link established, sir,' the com officer said. 'Searching band frequencies now.' Suddenly he winced.

'Something wrong, Lieutenant?' Estalla asked.

'Sorry sir. Got a load of near supersonic blipping there. I'd guess that's the machines' transmission frequency.'

'Mark it,' Dena ordered without thinking. 'If we can get it decoded it'll be useful during the evac to know their planned movements.'

'Yes ma'am.' He continued to input commands and then paused, listening intently. 'I think I got it. Main bandwidth section, anyway. Sounds like the signal's being scrambled.'

'Of course it's being scrambled,' Estalla said. 'They're fighting a war down there, Lieutenant.'

'Yes sir. Shall I encrypt our transmissions?'

'No. They won't be able to decode until we can give them the software. Add that to your drop package, Captain Reese. I don't like the idea of those machines listening in.'

'Will do, sir.'

'Try broadening the reception amplitude,' Sparks suggested quietly, then lent over the console to see the display better. 'You're in the wrong frequency range for Zion, that's the intership com.'

'You even encrypt control base transmissions?' the com seemed to find this strange.

'Like the captain said, we're fighting a war down there.' Sparks straightened up and folded his arms. Dena hid a grin as Niobe gave a low, teasing chuckle.

'Now the experts have conferred…'

Sparks gave her a filthy look as the com officer gave a start.

'I've isolated the encryption, sir- I think I have a clear channel.' He nodded to Sparks in thanks.

'_QUIET_!' Estalla bellowed. The bridge fell silent. 'I want everyone to hear this voice from Terra so you all know exactly why we're here Broadcast this shipwide, Mr Westan.'

'Sir.' Westan flipped a switch. 'Shipwide, sir.'

'All right, Killock, go ahead.'

'Sir.' The com officer pressed his slender earpiece down with one finger as he spoke. 'Zion Control, this is the cruiser _Voltaire_. Do you read? Over.' He paused and then repeated the phrase twice more. Then there was a long, strained silence. 'Sir, I think perhaps-' he was cut off by a burst of static and a piercing squeal that made everyone wince. But then a voice came online, the tone one of absolute and total disbelief.

'_Voltaire_, this is Zion Control. We are reading you loud and clear. Do- do you read us?'

A loud cheer went up from all over the command centre. Dena laughed as the _Logos_ crew hugged each other and then all three of them engulfed her at once. Showing great presence of mind, the com officer removed his headset and handed it to Niobe. She fumbled putting it on her ear and then managed to speak into the mouthpiece, her hand trembling where she held it.

'Jason?'

'_Niobe_?'

'It's me- sir, Commander-' she added, remembering where she was. Estalla laughed and clapped her on the shoulder in a friendly manner.

'Just give him the message, Captain. We won't stand on ceremony today.'

'Jason, it's me. I'm in orbit on a ship called the _Voltaire_. Over.'

'My god!' This elicited some small laughs from the listeners. 'Your crew?'

'They're fine, Jason- we're all fine. God, you should see it up here. It's _beautiful_!' Shaking her head and pulling herself together, Niobe went on. 'Commander, you need to issue a complete recall of all ships from broadcast level. But keep one dock pad free, we're coming back down with some plans for you.'

'Wait just a second- a complete recall? Plans?'

'For the evacuation, Jason.' She caught Estalla's look. 'Listen, I'll put you on to Captain Estalla, he's the commander of the _Voltaire_. He's- he's got it together more than I have right now.' She handed the headset over and buried her face in one hand. 'Oh god, I have never felt like such a fool.'

'Don't worry, Captain,' Maloney said with an easy grin. 'For your first orbital com that was pretty good.'

'Glad I didn't have to do it,' Sparks enjoined with a glance at Dena.

'Commander Lock,' Estalla said. 'I hope you're reading me clearly because we have a few things we need you to do before we can start getting your people out of there. Over.'

'Understood, Captain. I'm reading you just fine. Uh, over.'

Dena had to smile at his uncomfortable use of com protocol.

'That's great, Commander. Now, there's a full evac force being mobilised as we speak and in roughly twelve hours we'll start the job properly. In the meantime I need you to make sure all your people are _in_ the city so we don't have to start mopping up stragglers elsewhere. Captain Niobe tells me this means a complete recall of all your ships in broadcast level. I confess that's so much noise to me but I hope it makes sense to you. Over.'

'Entirely, Captain. The recall is going out as we speak.'

'Acknowledge that, Commander.' Putting his hand over the mouthpiece briefly, Estalla remarked, 'Man's a damn fine organiser.' Niobe blushed ever so slightly as he resumed contact. 'I'd like you to leave one of your landing docks free for a drop ship, Commander. Captain Reese will be coming to join you shortly and I don't think anyone wants her to plough into the surface this time.' Dena rolled her eyes at him. 'She'll have more information for you and also a nifty little piece of software to encrypt future communications. I don't know about you but I don't like the idea of the machines eavesdropping on our little operation. Over.'

'Affirmative to that, Captain, we'll expect them soon. Recall is in progress. And Captain?'

'Yes, Commander?'

'I'd just like to say it's damn good to hear your voice. Over.'

'Believe me, Commander, hearing yours is just about a miracle from where I stand. _Voltaire_ out.' He handed the headset back to Killock. 'Keep an ear on that channel, Lieutenant, in case we get anything else. And get someone to work decoding that machine blipping into something like a language.'

'Yes _sir_.'

Turning back to address the bridge, Estalla folded his arms.

'All right, you all heard the Commander. He may not be Fleet or even a spacer but he apparently outranks me. And yes, that does kind of piss me off.' This got some laughter. 'Nonetheless he seems to have his end of things pretty tight so let's make sure we don't show the entire Coalition up by appearing sloppy. We're here to prepare the way for the _Gormenghast_ and her evac crew. Let's make sure we do it properly.'

'Captain,' said another com officer further down. 'We're receiving a datastream transmission from Mars. High Command HQ.' A pause. 'It includes an official message for Captain Reese, sir.'

Dena crossed to him.

'What's that, ensign?'

'Displaying message, ma'am.'

_Enclose official announcement from emergency Congress meeting for conveyance to Zion officials as soon as possible. Green light for full Terran evacuation to HSS _Gormenghast. _Consider Capella reserved_. Dena felt a grin come to her face and ruthlessly suppressed it.

'What is it?' Niobe asked.

'Just a message for the Council.' She took the datapad the ensign handed her with a nod, ignoring Sparks' querying look. 'Captain Estalla, I think that drop might be in order right about now.'

He consulted a screen.

'Everything you need should be aboard. Are you _sure_ you don't require one of our gunners?'

'Captain, with Ghost on shift I almost pity the machines.' She clapped a blushing Ghost on the shoulder and made for the door, glancing back when they failed to follow her.

'Get a move on,' Maloney said. 'You're holding the entire line up. And I want to see this city of yours.'

'Good flying, Captain,' Estalla said. 'And good luck.'

'We've had more than our fair share recently, Captain,' Dena said to him.

'Let's hope it holds out,' Niobe murmured as the lift doors closed.


	20. Soirée

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: Urk. Bridging chapters are a pain.**

_Part 20- Soirée_

'Now _that_'s a reception,' muttered Ghost as the gate began to close behind them. It indeed looked to Dena like most of Zion had turned out in the dock to cheer them in. From the look of it most of the docks were filled too; nearly all the ships had come in already. Even the _Nebuchadnezzar_. She manoeuvred the drop-ship _Churchill _deftly down onto a vacant pad and took the engines offline. Fully expecting the _Logos_ crew to make straight for the hatchway, she was surprised to turn around and find them in fact looking at her.

'You have to walk from here,' she said dryly.

'Sure thing,' Niobe replied. 'But _you_ lead us out.'

'Niobe-'

'Go on, Dena,' Sparks said with a smile. 'I think you've earned it.'

'And so say all of them,' Maloney interjected quietly, raising one eyebrow. Dena took a deep breath which turned into a heavy sigh and then reluctantly unstrapped herself, rising to go to the back of the ship and palming open the hatchway. Immediately a deafening cheer rose up, increasing in volume as the others came out. It died away when Commander Lock stepped forwards and raised his arms for silence, then extended one hand out to Dena with a broad smile on his face.

'Captain Reese.'

'Commander,' she replied, shaking firmly.

'Congratulations,' he said simply, and then turned to Niobe. Much to Dena's amusement, the other captain threw him a salute.

'Commander.'

Grinning, he gave her a nod. There was apparently a conspiracy about since Sparks and Ghost reacted exactly the same way to his scrutiny. But then he reached Maloney and glanced back at Dena.

'Who's this, Captain?'

'Commander.' Maloney gave him a smart Fleet salute, eyes dead ahead and fully at attention. 'Lieutenant Kerry Maloney of Psi Corps reporting for duty, _sir_!'

A murmur of wonder ran through the assembled and then there were sounds of a scuffle from the back. They ceased abruptly when Maloney looked in that direction and Dena guessed he'd issued a mental instruction to Neo to stay put and keep his mouth shut. She shot Kerry a look and thought as loudly as possible about the dispersion of the crowd. He glanced back, picking up on her, and gave a barely discernible nod. Immediately people began to drift away, still chattering excitedly, until the dock was empty except for the crew of the _Logos_, the two Fleet officers and Commander Lock. He glanced back in obvious puzzlement at the abrupt cessation of enthusiasm from the populous.

'Don't worry, Commander,' Maloney said. 'Psi abilities have their uses. Crowd control, for instance.'

'You mean you just-' Lock exclaimed in disbelief.

'I introduced a tacit _suggestion_ that it would be a good idea to leave right about nowish,' Maloney said with a grin. 'I'm only grade three ESP, Commander. Although I must say your people were remarkably agreeable to what was technically only a weak TP evocation.'

'My _people_ are accustomed to following orders, Mr Maloney.'

'Ah. That would explain it, sir.'

Shaking his head briefly, Lock returned his attention to Dena. She opened her thigh pocket and withdrew several data disks, handing them over to him.

'Full evac plans and procedures, Commander. We'll have to alter them slightly to deal with the unusual circumstances down here, but those files should give you the basic idea. I had the head ops officer on the _Voltaire_ copy them onto these-' meaning the disks '-since our usual data slides won't be compatible with the hardware down here.'

'Excellent.' He accepted them with a nod of thanks and turned to hand them to his lieutenant, except the man of course wasn't there. Dena smothered a grin but he somehow made it seem as though he'd known that all along- the mark of a good commanding officer, she thought, never losing control of the situation- and then looked down at them thoughtfully.

'You said it would be twelve hours until the resources from Phobos would be ready?'

'Yes sir.'

'Then I suggest you all catch a couple of hours of sleep. I'll expect both of you, Captains, in my office at-' he consulted his wrist chrono briefly '-fifteen-hundred hours. We'll begin adapting this procedure then. As for the Lieutenant…'

'Sir, I respectfully request permission to speak with the crew of the _Nebuchadnezzar_,' Maloney said. If Lock was surprised at this he didn't show it.

'I'm sure that can be arranged, if you'll come with me.' He nodded to the others. 'Until fifteen-hundred, Captains.'

_I see what you mean_ Dena heard in her head. _The man's mind is like my mama's spice rack- all sensible lines and related items stacked neatly nearby_.

Dena grimaced. She _hated_ it when Psi poked around and stuffed messages in her head. Especially without her permission. Even more especially when she was having enough trouble making sense of her own thoughts at present without externals complicating matters.

_Sorry there, Diz_. _I'll stick to verbals after fifteen-hundred, kapeech_? _Oh, I _see. _Well _that_ would explain a lot_.

He was gone with Lock before she could demand an explanation. What would explain a lot of what?

'Bloody Psi,' she muttered under her breath.

'Some shuteye sounds great about now,' Niobe said. 'But I don't know how I'm going to sleep.'

'Tell me about it,' Ghost agreed. 'I've half a mind to go jack myself into the construct for a while so at least my eyes stay closed.'

'Now that _is_ a good idea,' Niobe said.

'Yeah, well not all of us can just go plug ourselves in and meditate in some virtual garden,' Sparks shot back with a tangible amount of acid. Grinning openly now, Dena looped her arm through his and tilted her head up to whisper in his ear.

'And you can't think of any other way to kill three hours when we're both too hyped up on adrenalin to sleep?'

He gave her a mildly astonished look and then a shrug of compliance.

'Your words, not mine.'

'See you at fifteen-hundred,' Dena said to a half-laughing Niobe as they headed out along the walkway for the elevator down into the residential level.


	21. Planet D441

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: Rose-coloured glasses on, ladies and gentlemen. Oh, come _on_. Big stirring speeches are fun!**

_Part 21- Planet D-441_

'You know, a year ago, if someone told me I'd be in bed with a woman who was born on Ganymede I'd have thought they were crazy.'

'A year ago you didn't know what Ganymede _was_.'

'All the more reason I'd have thought they were crazy.'

Dena smiled and tipped her head straight back to kiss him on the chin, snuggling back a little more into his chest with a sigh.

'A year ago if someone told _me_ I'd be in bed with a Terran who's spent most of his life hacking into the galaxy's biggest virtual reality system I'd probably have thought they were crazy too.'

'Well that's something we've got in common,' he said as her chrono alarm went off.

'That's ten minutes to fifteen-hundred.'

'Damn,' he muttered as she rose to dress. 'How long is this stuff going to take?'

'Depends.'

'On what?'

'On Deadbolt.' Snapping the fasteners on her boots closed, she stood up and pulled her jacket straight. 'It's going to be virtually all-go from here on up.'

'Sorry. This is my first evacuation,' he said with no apology at all in his tone.

'Well if we don't get a chance again I'll see you on the _Gormenghast_,' she replied wickedly.

'_Hey_!' He struggled upright and caught her by the arm, pulling her onto his lap as she made for the door. 'You'd better be kidding about that, Den.'

'I hope I am.' She gave him a quick peck on the cheek. 'C'mon. Lemme go. The last thing I need is to walk in late and piss off Lock _and_ Niobe.'

'I'm serious.' His eyes locked with hers, strangely intense.

'Sparks, _any_ evacuation is a scramble one notch off total chaos. This is the biggest one I've ever heard of and we've got a potential for open combat thrown in the mix too. Believe me, the next couple of weeks are going to show you the real meaning of the word _hectic_.'

'Couple of _weeks_? It's going to take that long?'

'We're moving quarter of a million people, Sparks. It can't be done overnight.'

'So what, you're going to have those hot-burning ships of yours whizzing in and out of here, probably with the gates permanently open?' He shook his head. 'We're going to have sentinels all over us in _minutes_, never mind a couple of _weeks_!'

'Well what do you think the fighter squadrons Wingeye's prepping are going to do?' she soothed, running one hand through his hair. 'We're not going to leave the place totally undefended, Sparks.'

'Fighter squadrons,' he repeated blankly. 'But that's- I mean- you said _you_ were in a fighter squadron.'

'I am.' She grinned. 'Dizzi's Desperadoes. Best damn squad in the fleet, even if I do say so myself. Those squiddies won't know _what_ hit 'em when the Desperadoes start flying.'

He swallowed and looked away for a moment.

'I thought they'd want you…on ground staff. Supervising. Zion liaison, or something.'

'Are you _kidding_? I'm a pilot, not a diplomat. If it comes to blows that's where I'm going to be, out there kicking butt, not sitting on ground staff worrying about the numbers adding up.'

'I just…' He swallowed again and closed his eyes. She sighed and stood up, deftly untangling her hands from his and making for the doorway again.

'This is how it always happens, Sparks. Guys're always trying to hold me down on pretence of protecting me.'

'I'm not trying to protect you.' He looked up and managed a very small smile. 'Come _on_, after living here all my life do you honestly think I'm intimidated by women who're more than capable of looking after themselves?' The smile vanished. 'I just don't want to lose you, that's all.'

She softened.

'You won't.'

'I hope not. Space'd be shitty without you.'

Finally she permitted herself a shadow of a smile.

'I've got to go.'

'I know. I'll see you later.'

Dena closed the door and started for the elevator, something Cas had said to her drifting back like a lost mote on the wind. _They make 'em good in Zion_.

Yes, she thought. They sure did.

'…the simplest way to issue these instructions will, I believe, be a full gathering of all personnel in the Temple as soon as possible.'

'I believe we would all agree with that estimation, Commander,' Councillor Dillard said. 'But might we have some kind of brief rundown of the procedure now?'

Dena had to grin at the vaguely apologetic nature of the woman's tone. Oh, people might bicker and natter on about democracy and fair government, but when push came to shove the civilians always looked to the military for a solution. It was an impossibly human failing that had caused plenty of problems in the race's bloody history, but in this particular case it was the best possible way to get things done. And Lock, she got the impression, was rather enjoying himself.

'Of course, Councillor.' Then he looked at her and she wanted to hit him. 'Captain, perhaps you would oblige since you're more familiar with the basic procedure than I am.'

'Yes _sir_,' she said. The slight irony was not lost on him but he let it pass as she stood.

'Do we have an estimate for how long this process will take, Captain?' Hamaan asked.

'Based on pure numbers, Councillor, it would take around eight days to evacuate all personnel from the surface,' she replied. 'But that's unlikely to be the final figure once the machines start to interfere.'

'Eight _days_?' he echoed.

'That's a minimum, Councillor. Depending on the level of machine action, I wouldn't like to hazard a maximum.'

'But from what the Commander has said that will mean eight _days_ of leaving at least one of our gates open to any and all machine combatants,' West put in.

'Indeed, Councillor, however the _Voltaire_ is currently in the process of planting modified scuttlebugs along the chosen route to the surface which will act as potent deterrents to any machine trying to enter those tunnels. All other access to that route will be sealed off. It'll be a closed conduit for the drop ships.'

Before anyone else could ask anything, Dillard said rather sharply

'Could you please give us a rough explanation of what happens, Captain?'

'I can, Councillor.' Dena quickly ran over the altered plans which she and Lock, in collaboration with Estalla on the _Voltaire_ and remote assistance from Phobos base, had laid out to take into account the unusually hostile situation on Earth. 'The first phase will actually begin at twenty-one hundred hours tonight when a second drop ship from the _Voltaire_ arrives. This ship will be carrying medical and organisational personnel to assist in preparing the city for full evacuation. Normally this wouldn't be necessary, as all Coalition installations are fully briefed and drilled in the procedures, but of course we have to make allowances.'

'Indeed,' Dillard said. 'Continue.'

'First we have to tag everyone in the city with an identifying chip-'

'Like cattle, Captain?' Hamaan said.

'No, Councillor. Like valuable human beings, not a single one of whom can be left behind. The chips are standard in the Coalition, usually implanted at birth. They're a simple and efficient method of identifying individuals and keeping track of people. The medical team will take care of that level by level. At the same time we'll be relieving people of their baggage- that's one kilogram of personal items per individual that gets taken up in each drop. No carry on luggage, I'm afraid.'

'I don't think that will be a problem,' Hamaan said. 'People here tend not to be very materialistic. There isn't exactly much material to covet in the first place.'

'A very good thing, Councillor. Once the _Gormenghast_ is in orbit we go to Fleet condition orange, which gives all military personnel sole jurisdiction over civilian movements-' she stopped abruptly, remembering where she was and also that she hadn't yet mentioned that part to Lock. Unsurprisingly, he seemed rather pleased by it.

'A sensible precaution, given the circumstances,' Dillard allowed. 'Go on.'

'Ordinarily the carrier ships, which have a five hundred person capacity, would land and people would board straight on, but since no carrier would get through the tunnels we'll be using drop ships, operating in pairs, to get forty people at a time to the surface.' Hesitating, she added, 'I'm afraid Fleet doesn't hold with a 'women and children first' policy, Councillors. Evacuation of civilians will be by the levels. Military personnel will be last as they'll be required to organise the ground-based aspect of the evac.' This met with neutral nods. 'A carrier ship will be parked on the surface by the exit point from the tunnels. Each drop ship will unload and make the return run so we have a continuous passage of people. Once a carrier ship is full it will lift to the _Gormenghast_ as another lands.'

'And it is based on this system you've given the eight day estimate, Captain?' West asked.

'It is, Councillor.'

'So what happens when the machines…_interfere_, as they inevitably will?'

'The _Gormenghast_ will deploy fighter squadrons, marines and destroyers to protect the drop ships and carriers,' she told him. 'Each drop ship carries two gunners, and they travel in pairs initially to protect each other. But if they come under heavy fire we'll bring in the fighters to escort them.'

'Commander, what's your opinion on all this?' Hamaan asked.

'I confess I don't like the idea of leaving a gate open, Councillor, but I don't think we have any choice,' Lock admitted. 'I intend to have the APU corps on full alert, working on rotating shifts to keep the gate constantly covered, just in case anything should make it past the defensive measures the _Voltaire_ is putting in place.'

'What about these fighter squadrons?' Grace wanted to know. 'Are they capable of protecting the ships?'

Dena gave her a fierce grin.

'Councillor Grace, once we get at them they'll wish they never heard of Fleet.'

This caused a moment of puzzlement until Hamaan laughed.

'Of course, Captain, you command one of these squadrons. I think we'd forgotten, what with all the running about you've been doing on our behalf.'

'Councillor Hamaan, if I'm being completely honest I sincerely hope I get to blast some sentinels on your behalf as well, before this is done.'

He laughed again.

'I think Commander Lock is rubbing off on you, Captain. You're starting to sound like one of us now!'

This caused an exchange of amused looks between the councillors. Dillard broke the silence by rising.

'Commander, an order has already gone out for all civilians to move to the Temple as soon as possible. I'm told most of your people will be there as well.'

'Yes, Councillor. The dock crews will be briefed by me later and separately.'

'Then let us adjourn to the Temple,' Hamaan said. 'I want to hear this message, Captain Reese, that you insist must be read out to everyone at once.'

'I think it'll be worth the wait, Councillor,' she said to him.

'Oh it will, will it?' he said, smiling, and gestured for her to precede him through the doorway.

The Temple seemed even more packed than usual, possibly because of the anticipation and excitement that charged the air. Any other population would have been restless, fidgety, but Zion listened in rapt and unwavering attention as Commander Lock, on the speaker's platform, explained what was going to be happening and what was expected of them.

'Once this gathering dissolves, all military personnel will remain behind for orders,' he concluded by saying. 'Everyone else is to return to their own quarters, prepare their personal baggage and remain there to await further instructions.' Every face remained fixed on the platform, gripped with interest, so he glanced briefly back to Dena who was standing with the council in the shadows of the rock formation just behind him before addressing the crowd again. 'I know you've all been waiting for Captain Reese to speak. Unfortunately for all of us, she's been a little shy.' This caused a ripple of laughter. 'Until today,' he added, and moved away. Her heart in her mouth, Dena stepped up to take his place.

She was completely unprepared for the roar that shook the cave. Without any warning, the entire population of Earth's last city started cheering, clapping, jumping about, punching fists in the air and generally making it very clear that they were delighted to see her.

Stay calm, she told herself. Just imagine you're speaking to your squad. Only there're a _lot more_ of them…

'_ZION_!' she yelled at the top of her lungs. To her surprise, silence immediately took the room. Then she spotted Maloney standing with Neo, and realised that he was using the gathering as a demonstrative exercise to his new protégé. Neo, for his part, grinned and gave her a thumbs-up of encouragement.

'I have here a message from the Congress of the Coalition,' she said, quietening her voice slightly when it dawned on her that the acoustics of the Temple cave almost totally removed the need to shout. Battling to stop her hand from trembling, she held up the datapad. Not even the smallest child whispered. 'The message reads,' she began, thumbing on the display, '_To the people of Zion_, _our warmest and happiest greetings_. _There are no words to express our admiration at your courage, fortitude and brilliance in surviving on a planet we long thought devoid of all life. Every one of you is a singular miracle and astounding tribute to the enduring nature of the human race, under even the most dangerous and extreme circumstances_.' This prompted murmurs. '_What you have endured goes beyond the unimaginable. It is this and the unifying spirit of humanity that brings us to a decision- we can no longer leave you to struggle on in your war against the machines. The children of Zion and their descendents deserve a better life- one unsullied by war and grief, one lived in a world of blue skies and green fields._' That phrase choked her slightly and she had to pause before continuing. She'd read the document through beforehand, of course, but reading it out loud to a sea of amazed and eager faces captivated by its words was something quite different. '_In the star system of Capella, forty-two light years away, there is a world carrying the designation D-441­_ _that lies empty and waiting to be peopled. This world is rich and fertile. It has rivers, seas, mountains, clean air and growing things._' Again she had to pause and clear her throat. '_This world we give to you, our brothers and sisters who have laboured so long and suffered so much under the blackened skies of Earth. D-441 is now Zion._' A gasp ran through the assembly but she hurriedly pressed on before she lost her composure completely. '_Welcome, Zion, to the Planetary Coalition_.'

For a moment there was deathly silence. Then someone- who sounded to Dena remarkably like Link- gave a single whoop. That seemed to act like a match into a gas flame and the cavern erupted into cheers and ecstatic cries of delight. People started to dance around each other, punching the air, waving their arms around, picking each other up and swinging themselves about. Dena backed off from the ledge before she fell off it and was suddenly hugged around the waist. Wriggling back, she found herself looking at Thadeus.

'You did it! You really did it!'

'I didn't get the-' she began before being hugged by someone else. Then she found herself doing a kind of dance from one person to the next, tossed like some kind of rag doll. Someone- she thought it was Niobe- planted a kiss on her cheek. At some point Neo and Trinity had their arms around her simultaneously. At another moment she was sure that she was being hugged by Hamaan. Then there was an instant of blessed reprieve , which let her get her breath back, and she found that she was standing in front of Commander Lock. For a moment she wasn't sure what to do, but then to her utter and lasting astonishment he gave her a broad grin and a clap on the shoulder before pulling her into a somewhat awkward half embrace. She didn't have time to contemplate it, however, as something heavy bowled into her and nearly knocked her off her feet altogether. It was Link, who had sprinted up from the main cavern where he'd been standing with Zee and Cas.

'Oh my- oh my- oh my-' was all he could say in between breathless guffaws of joyous laughter. Then she was off again, faces dancing before her like flickers of a flame. To her own vague amazement she found that she could name nearly all of them- Ice, Roland, Jue, Ballard, Kali, Axel…even Morpheus gripped her hand firmly as she passed him, his deep brown eyes glistening with unshed tears. Mifune caught hold of her in a rib-cracker, pounding her on the back, and then finally she reeled out of the formation onto the crew ledge proper, dimly aware that Hamaan was on the platform restoring some semblance of order. However just as she thought she was going to pitch over and fall into the mass of bodies below, someone caught her arm to pull her back and she found herself crushed tightly against a broad chest as her nostrils were assailed with the by-now familiar identifying scent of engine oil and fresh sweat.

'Holy shit, Den,' Sparks exclaimed, holding her off him slightly so he could see her face. 'All the way from the platform down here…I swear your feet didn't touch the ground, it was like passing the hot potato or something-'

She laughed and flung her arms around his waist. How many times had she heard him use similes or make references to things he'd never even seen except in scrolling Matrix code?

'You knew, didn't you?' he said, lacing one hand through her hair and resting his chin on the top of her head. 'On the _Voltaire_, that message…you knew then, didn't you?'

'I knew,' she confirmed. 'I just…I suppose I wanted to surprise you.'

'Just me?' he exclaimed. 'With the whole goddamn place in uproar?'

'Well not _just_ you…I mean, yes, you. All of you. Everyone-' she stopped and shook her head, still laughing. 'I don't even know what I'm _saying_!'

'Never mind it, then. You've already said what mattered. And everyone heard. Any poor bastard who didn't is going to find out in fewer seconds than I've got fingers, I'll bet.' He wrapped his arms around her again and she let her eyes slide closed as the cheers of the city echoed around them.


	22. Getting Underway

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: If you don't like my trivialising Neo's whole messiah thing, you're reading the wrong fic.**

_Part 22_- _Getting_ _Underway_

'He's good. _Too_ good. At least for me. I'll have to hand him over to Alyss for the rest of his prelims once we get back to the _Gormenghast_.'

'High grade?' Dena asked.

Maloney grimaced.

'First, or I'm a glass-ball clairvoyant. He's pretty impressive. And Terran stock too! That'll have the PTB hopping around in little circles, so it will.'

'I suppose you're going to pull strings and get him on the first lift, then?'

'Not a bit of it!' He grinned at her surprise. 'There're quarter of a million very excited and overhappy people down here. I'm going to need him as a booster station to keep 'em under control, at least until we get some decent grade down here from my lot.'

'Would Alyss come?' The head Psi officer on the _Gormenghast_, Captain Alyss Rosaan, was an impressive first-grade ESP who headed up the communications department for the supership. Dena had only met her a couple of times before since the fighter crews tended not to have much contact with the officers based purely in the command centre.

'I reckon she would- if I could get Neo to shout at her.'

'Huh?'

'He's picking up tricks faster'n I can think how to teach him about them. Within an hour of me walking into his quarters he was floating his boots around the room, much to Trinity's amazement.' Maloney laughed. 'She's a funny ol' thing, that one. Just sits and watches him do all this crazy shit like it's a circus show. Although that may be partly to do with that prophecy business.'

'Neo told you about that?'

'I did some discreet poking around. At least until he caught me and gave me a look like he'd just caught me in bed with his mother.'

'Sounds like you're getting along just fine.'

Maloney shrugged.

'He's a nice guy. Learns fast, like I said. Doesn't ask many questions, either. Nothing worse than an ESP who asks lots of questions about how come his brain can do all this shit. With Neo, he doesn't care how it works, just so long as it _works_.'

'You want me to send a com to Wingeye once they arrive?'

'Naw, I'll borrow some of his juice and we'll hit a personal line with Alyss. That'll get her interested and piss off the hierarchy when she pulls Psi jurisdiction on the Commander.'

'Your call, Lieutenant.' Dena left him standing by the doorway into the dock operations centre and headed out onto the walkways to watch the progress of the hoverships as they made their stately way down a secondary access tunnel to the enormous storage caverns beneath. She had to admit that the sentimental pilot in her grieved a little that the vessels which had served so long and so well had to meet such an ignoble end as being left to rot in a cave underneath the city they once protected, but there was no feasible alternative. The ships were just too slow and clunk-assed, as Niobe put it, to compete with the little drop shuttles for the speed of the surface runs needed. Now that the teams from the _Voltaire_ had arrived and were busy processing every inhabitant of Zion level by level, ready for the lifts, the only thing stopping them was the lack of the _Gormenghast_ in orbit. Deciding there was nothing else she could do while the dock was being cleared out she left for the residentials and went to pay Zee a visit. Cas was there with the twins, Lorri and Isaac, since their quarters were on the same level and Lock had judiciously allowed movement within levels until, as he took great glee in saying, they went to condition orange.

'Mind if I come in? I'm feeling a bit superfluous up in the dock, what with all the big men in their hoverships showing off right now.'

'Sure you can,' Zee said, rising to pour her a cup of water. The room seemed a little barer than usual but there were no bags sitting by the door, so Dena guessed that their level had already been processed.

'Got your chips already?' she asked.

Cas nodded and rolled her sleeve up to display the slightly reddened patch of skin in her upper arm.

'And they took our bags. What happens to the cargo?'

'It gets coded with your new ID so there won't be any mix-ups at the other end. Cargo gets loaded in with each lift along with personnel.' Dena became aware she was in Council Speaking mode and smiled to soften her words. 'Fleet procedure keeps all baggage separate after it's tagged to make sure people don't try sneaking in extra oddments.'

Cas nodded to that.

'And I know some here who'd try, given half a chance.' She gave Lorri's hair an affectionate ruffle. 'Huh?'

The little girl giggled slightly and avoided Dena's gaze.

'Oh yeah? Someone trying to go over their weight allowance?'

'She wanted to bring her rag doll along,' Cas said. 'I told her clothes only. She can easily get another doll.'

'I hope you managed.'

'We did okay. Not much to bring, really.'

'What about you, Zee?'

'Fine,' she said, sitting back down. 'Although I was a little worried about these-' indicating her bangle-laden arms and other jewellery. 'Will I have to take them off?'

'Of course not,' Dena said. 'I doubt that lot weighs in at more than a kilo, right? Well you get a kilogram extra allowance either way just on your body mass to account for things like that.'

'Along with sudden bingeing?' Cas asked wryly.

'Could I take Dolly then, mama?' Lorri wanted to know.

'_No_, Lorri, they said no carrying anything!'

Dena had to laugh at the disconsolate look on the little girl's face. Truth be told, she didn't mind children all that much, provided they were someone else's and could be handed back.

'Hey, Lorri, once we get up on the _Gormenghast_ I'll see if I can't find you another doll, huh?' She held out a hand and Lorri climbed up onto her lap for a cuddle. 'After call, we can't have a little colonist like you dropping to the new Zion without a doll to keep her company, eh?'

'Dolls are _stupid_,' Isaac said disdainfully. 'Sides, we're gonna fly in a _spaceship_! That's _cool_!'

'Now there's a point we all agree on,' Cas said wryly.

'Is it true about zero gravity?' Zee asked suddenly, then looked embarrassed. 'I just- I don't think I've got much of a strong stomach, and…'

'No zero-g in a drop ship, Zee,' Dena assured her. 'Just the acceleration, and you'll barely feel that with the couches as well-padded as they are.'

'Oh. Good. I was kinda worried about that.'

'So we don't get to float?' Lorri asked.

'No floating,' Dena said with a grin. 'It's called a g compensator, and if you ever go into Fleet school- which I would highly recommend you do- you'll learn all about it.'

'Fleet school?' Isaac stopped fiddling with the hem of his sweater and stared up at her. 'Really?'

Lorri moved over to let her brother on the other half of Dena's lap as he clambered up.

'Is that where you went? To learn to fly?'

'That's the one. And if you're good enough they'll let you go to Mars and you can be an officer.'

'Like you?' Lorri asked.

'Uh-huh.' Dena caught Cas' eye. 'Sorry. I shouldn't be out on a recruiting barge here.'

'Oh no, you go right ahead.' Cas smiled. 'It can't be any worse than operating on a hacker ship, or volunteering for the APU corps or the infantry…' then she sighed. 'At least in _your_ Fleet they aren't going to get themselves ripped apart by sentinels.'

'Surely it's _our_ Fleet now, too,' Zee put in thoughtfully. 'I mean, that message said _welcome to the Coalition_. That means we're not just Zion any more, right?'

'You betcha it does,' Dena said, smiling at the affirmation of the other woman. 'And it means you can stop worrying. Fleet's good at what it does.'

As the children climbed down to resume their game- an adapted form of marbles rolling old boltheads at each other on the woven rug- Cas turned serious.

'What about the sentinels? Surely they'll- I mean they'll know what's going on, won't they?'

'They'll detect the ships, if that's what you mean,' Dena said. 'But you know, I once flew lift duty in an evacuation on Sirius Prime where we had privateer isolationists- who are basically just as hostile as the machines towards ordinary humans- bombarding the carriers while they tried to load. Fleet brought in the marines and the fighters along with some big destroyer floaters to sweep wide. You know how many of the evacuees we lost there?' She went on without waiting for an answer. 'Three people who didn't follow their lift orders and got killed when a building collapsed on top of them. And there were two hundred thousand people in that colony. Not that many less than here, if you really think about it.'

'Three people,' Cas murmured, shaking her head.

'And they didn't follow orders,' Dena reminded her.

'So we do as we're told and we'll get out fine,' Zee said, smiling. 'That's what Link told me. He was helping the medics unload, he said they know what they're doing.' She reached across and touched Cas' hand. 'We'll be okay. I know it.' Then her gaze lifted to Dena's. 'What's Capella like? Have you seen it?'

'Only the scans from the survey ship. But there were sure some nice pictures. It looks…a lot like Earth used to look, I think.'

'It can't be any worse than _this_ planet,' Cas said with sudden vehemence, glancing down at her children. 'I can't wait to see their faces.'

'I can't wait to see _all_ your faces,' Dena said with a slight smirk, then checked her chrono. 'The _Gormenghast_ should be making contact in about twenty minutes. I'd better get up there before Deadbolt sends out search parties for me.' She stood. 'From what I saw of the figuring, you ladies should be on the same lift. So you keep an eye on each other, and I'll tell whoever's flying you to be careful over Zee's stomach.' Pausing at the door, she gave the kids a wink. 'And I'll see _you_ two on the _Gormenghast_.'

They both giggled at her as she went out, giving Cas and Zee a final nod. Outside the walkways were unusually deserted as most people elected to remain in their homes until notified otherwise. That made her smile slightly, remembering a transplant operation she'd once done on Proxima Centuri, moving fifty thousand people from one planet to the next. Everyone had been more than co-operative, not moving one inch from anywhere until they were told, anxious to make their lift. Like when a haulier reached its destination all the civilians were like cows on a rope for fear of having their drop time put back.

She reached the command centre, set some hundred metres directly beneath the dock ops building, to find Commander Lock staring at the main communications equipment as if daring it to malfunction.

'Anything yet, sir?' she asked.

'Not yet,' he replied, seeming glad of the distraction, and rose to greet her. 'Where've you been?'

'Just down for a walk. The place seems almost empty, everyone's sitting tight for now. If this is the type of discipline you can reduce a whole city to, Commander, I sincerely hope you consider enlisting with Fleet after we reach Capella.'

'Enlisting?' He blinked in surprise. 'I hadn't thought about it. Once we reach…' he shook his head a few times, a little overwhelmed. 'I _will_ think about it now, Captain.'

'Not too hard, Commander,' she said easily. 'You're going to have enough on your plate.'

'So I'm beginning to gather,' he remarked just as Mattis, one of those on com watch, gave a shout.

'Commander, we have an incoming signal!'

'Let's hear it, mister!' Lock grabbed up a headset and tossed a second to Dena. There was a brief fizzling sound as the scuttlebug relays powered up and then the clear voice a com officer.

'This is the _Gormenghast_ to Zion Control, do you read? Over.'

'Affirmative, _Gormenghast_, we read you loud and clear,' Lock said, before remembering to add, 'Over.'

The voice changed.

'This is Commander Wesley Pryce speaking. May I know whom I'm addressing? Over.'

Lock gave Dena a look of utter jubilation before replying.

'This is Commander Jason Lock. It's damn good to hear you, sir. Over.'

'Likewise, Commander, likewise. What's your status? Over.'

'The teams from the _Voltaire_ are almost three-quarters of the way through our civilian population. All military personnel are prepped.' Lock paused. 'We're ready when you are, Commander. Over.'

'That's excellent news. Carrier one is coming in to the surface now. The first drop shuttles should be with you in about twenty minutes. I'm afraid it's all uphill slog from here for a bit, Commander, but I have the impression there's nothing your people can't handle. Over.'

'Thank you for the vote of confidence, Commander,' Lock replied, grinning openly. 'Our first forty will be ready for lift when your shuttles reach the dock. Over.'

'Glad to hear it. Fleet condition orange now in action, Commander. _Gormenghast_ out.'

Lock looked at Dena.

'He didn't ask for you.'

'Why should he?' Dena shot back with a grin. 'He needed to speak to the man in charge. I'm afraid that's still you, Commander.'

'Just my goddamn luck.' He removed the headset and raised his voice so the entire room could hear him. 'All right people, we're on condition orange. Evacuation is now officially underway. We've got Capella, so let's prove _why_ they gave it to us. You all have your orders. Implement them.'


	23. Lift Run

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: Again with the technical stuff. Hey, whose fic is this anyway?**

_Part 23- Lift Run_

Dena strode straight through the mess of personnel the dock had become, headed straight for the _Churchill_. She was neatly intercepted by Captain Mifune just before she reached the palm lock for the rear hatch.

'Off already, Captain?' he asked.

'This little lady's got to get up to the surface point to pick up her gunner crews and a co-pilot,' Dena replied. 'But I'll be back, Captain, don't worry.'

'An empty run, given our current situation?' He pursed his lips thoughtfully, and then turned, indicating the stacked pallets of baggage stowed around the edges of the dock walkways. 'This may be a breach of procedure, in which case I apologise, Captain, but wouldn't getting some of that shit out of the way make life a bit simpler later on?'

'If your men can load it I'll lift it,' she replied.

'Right.' He whirled and bellowed at some of the APU trainees who were apparently standing guard over the nearest baggage rack. 'You there! Get that thing over here! What's your capacity, Captain?' he added to Dena.

'Three racks, Commander. They slot right in over the seating.' She gestured to indicate. 'That is if your tech teams assembled them to standard.'

He caught the jibe and gave her a glare of mock anger.

'If our tech teams put them together, Captain, they probably did a better job than any of your so-called trained personnel can! _Move it_!' This last was addressed at the recruits as the three frames were slotted in. 'All right, now bring another three in from some of those over there. You, you and you- you've just been promoted to frames officer. Keep these racks here full when they aren't being loaded. Better to ferry across in short bursts to load up rather than keep a pilot waiting while we lug stuff over from the other end of the damned city.' He turned back to Dena with a smile. 'I'll get these organised, Captain. Good luck.'

'See you in a bit,' she responded, climbing in and palming the hatch shut behind her. Sitting back in a proper pilot's chair felt good, if a little strange. Her buttocks had become accustomed to the lack of padding. But as her fingers danced over the controls she felt a smile come unbidden to her lips. Power surged through the engines and the _Churchill_ sprang from the landing pad, rocketing over the heads of the line of APUs assembled, both gun barrels pointed squarely at the tunnels that loomed beyond the now permanently open gate. She settled to a speed that would get her out in the computed time of fifty-two seconds but still give her a chance to manoeuvre around the tunnels without splattering herself on the walls. The _Churchill_ was quick to respond to her commands and soon she was racing along the surface towards the distant hulk of a carrier ship. She noted the squarer shapes of destroyer barges forming an extended perimeter around the improvised landing area, along with squat gunships manned by marines. Ten drop shuttles were already parked, waiting the signal to go. She landed the _Churchill_ at the end of the row and opened the hatch.

'I got inanimate in here!'

Immediately a team of cargo handlers appeared, deftly unloading the racks and shunting them off towards the carrier, which from the spot lighting that had been set up Dena identified as the _Joshua_. She let out another bellow for some personnel, which set a trio sprinting over to her. Rising to meet them, she did a double take at the slender figure carrying pilot insignia on his collar.

'Galaway? What in the hell-'

'Full pilot now, Captain,' he said with a sheepish grin. Dena folded her arms and stared at him for a moment in disbelief. Connor Galaway, the last rookie she'd deigned to put up with, was a skinny little runt hailing from the Ceres mining colony in the Sol asteroid belt. He hadn't even irritated her as much as rookies usually did, on account of his impressive piloting skills and ability to soak up information like the proverbial sponge.

'What bloody idiot graduated you?' she demanded.

'The same bloody idiot who passed your final, ma'am,' he shot back cheekily. 'Instructor Hammond.'

'And you volunteered for pilot duty on _this_ evac?'

'Climbed over people to get it, ma'am. Let them know we worked together well on my training run.'

'Why you little shit!' she exclaimed, although she was in fact rather pleased to see him. A co-pilot with a photographic memory wouldn't go amiss in the maze of sewers that led to Zion.

'I was wondering if that would end up being my call sign, ma'am,' he replied, unfazed.

'You graduated to fighter qualified?'

'Best in the Fleet, ma'am!'

'And don't you forget it.' She grinned at him and noted how he slightly relaxed. He wasn't _that_ sure of himself, then. 'All right, Ensign, at ease before you sprain something, and prep us to go.'

'Yes _ma'am_.' He went to the co pilot's chair, strapped himself in and began working the panel. Dena turned her attention to the two stocky men just beyond. The smaller of the two threw her a salute.

'Gunner lieutenants Jackson-' indicating his companion '-and Morris reporting for duty, Captain.'

'All right, take your positions. Is she loaded, Ensign?'

'Charged up and ready to go, Captain.'

'Who's our dance partner?' she asked as she strapped herself back into the pilot's chair.

'The _Bristol_, ma'am. Lieutenant Warren's flying her. He says he'll follow your lead.'

Dena wasn't entirely happy about that- she knew Warren, who was a damn good shuttle pilot but had never flown with a fighter wing.

'All the other fighters are prepping their squads, Captain,' Galaway said, reading her so adroitly she wondered if he'd developed an ESP rating to add to his other talents.

'I think we're going to need them,' she muttered, then turned her attention to the controls. 'All right, here we go. Heads up, fellas,' she added, meaning Jackson and Morris.

'Knuckled up, Captain,' Morris assured her.

'The _Bristol_ is signalling ready,' Galaway added.

She responded by lifting the _Churchill_ off its pad and arrowing away across the desolate terrain, knowing she could rely on Galaway to keep in contact with the _Bristol_. Sure enough he pulled a headset out of his jacket pocket and fixed it to his ear, giving her a small smile when she glanced his way. A vision of the Kid hovering around Neo sprang into her head and she almost felt her eyes cross. Ridiculous. The kid was twenty-one, fresh out of flight school.

'Lovely countryside,' Jackson remarked from behind them. 'No wonder the poor shits were so eager to get outta here now they've got the chance. It's like a bare bloody rock.'

'Even the domed colonies are greener than this,' Galaway murmured. Of course on asteroids like Ceres the entire population lived in sealed domes, hence the term for those specialised colonies, but inside the domes tended to be a planetside visage in miniature, of course including ample hydroponics gardens. And it was pointless to compare the scorched, desolate Earth to any of those thriving belt communities.

By now they were halfway back to Zion. Dena saw the fizzling of electrostatic forcefields sealing off junctions in the tunnel run against intruding sentinels and also noticed the small, hovering forms of remotely-controlled scuttlebugs placing short-life, high-intensity EMP charges that could be let off from the _Voltaire_ or _Gormenghast_ tactical centres in case of unwanted visitors.

'That's the dock ahead,' she said when a vague slit of light appeared in the distance. Galaway nodded and adjusted the com settings.

'Zion Control, this is the _Churchill_ with the _Bristol_ requesting landing clearance for loading.'

Dena didn't bother to retune her headset to listen to the response, concentrating on the controls.

'We're clear,' Galaway told her.

She nodded and throttled back, spinning the _Churchill_ slowly around to land on one of the allotted landing pads and then unstrapping herself.

'Here's the game plan- Jackson, you're supervising cargo load. Morris, you get our twenty names, get on the com and get the other twenty from the _Bristol_ so we can tell the _Joshua_ who she's taking on board. Galway, you and I are counting heads in and strapping 'em down.'

The two gunners opened the hatch and were confronted by a petite blonde woman, one of Lock's staff whom Dena knew as Lieutenant Wirtz.

'Ready?' she asked, impressing Dena by being apparently unfazed by her first close encounter with a proper Coalition ship and Fleet crew. 'Your load know who they are.'

'Listing?' Morris asked. Wirtz promptly handed him a slip of paper. He looked at it for a moment, since the substance was all but unheard of in modern Fleet, and then disappeared back into the _Churchill_. Jackson jogged round to the side of the ship to assist the pair of skinny young recruits levering the first of the three cargo frames into position to slot into the top of the fuselage.

'All right,' Dena said to Wirtz. 'Let's have 'em.'

The woman nodded and stepped back, motioning to the small crowd gathered just beyond. It was a mixed group of men, women and a couple of children. They split neatly in half, obviously in a prearranged division, and began to file into the two shuttles. Dena and Galaway stood out of the way on either side of the hatch until everyone was seated. The twenty seats formed four rows of five with minimal walking space between them; one against each wall, the other two back-to-back in the middle. Once Jackson returned to his position on right gunnery Dena and Galaway took an aisle each, pulling down the restraints. They reminded Dena of the holding bars on old-fashioned rollercoaster rides, a heavy rectangle fitted to the shoulders that locked into position to offer minimal movement, since of course the passengers didn't need to worry about reaching for controls. Dena paused as she locked down the final person on her row, recognizing him.

'Hey, Kid, what about your new technician status?'

'New tech recruits got counted as civilians,' he said with obvious reproach. 'And my room's right below dock.'

'Are you crazy?' asked the man sitting next to him, then grinned at Dena. 'Don't mind him, Captain. Most of us went nuts when we heard we'd be the first up.'

She laughed and made her way back to her seat.

'_Bristol_ is clear for takeoff, Captain,' Galaway informed her as she fastened herself in. 'Zion control reports the _Moses_ and the _Pan_ are coming our way for second load.'

'Then let's get out of their way before they land on top of us, Ensign.' She powered up the engines and raised her voice so the passengers could heard her. 'Hold onto your lunch, everyone. We're going up.'

She was ready for the collective gasp as the _Churchill_ leapt from the pad to speed towards the gate over the APU sentries. The journey upwards seemed quicker somehow, and the series of _ooooh_s when the _Joshua_ came into view made Galaway chuckle.

'That's your carrier ship,' Dena announced. 'CLS _Joshua_, capacity five hundred so I'm afraid you're going to have a bit of a wait until she's ready to lift.' Landing next to the _Bristol_, she hit the release button on the restrainers. As they popped the passengers eagerly pushed them up but didn't rise. Then the ground crewman opened the hatch from the outside and motioned for them to move.

'Come on, people, we got half a thousand of you to shift before we can get the _Josh_ in the air. Let's move it along. All right, you all know each other? Let's hope so, you're going to be stuck together for a bit. Everyone stick together- hold hands if you like, I don't care- that's the way, all right? Hey now, honey-' this was addressed at one of the children and made Dena look round '-all ready to go orbital?'

Dena recognized Sam Aster, deck crew leader for her squadron on the _Gormenghast_.

'Doing a shift planetside now, Sam?' she called as he ushered the forty civilians into the care of a junior crewman who led them towards the main boarding ramp of the _Joshua_.

'First four hours, anyway!' he called, then gave her a thumbs-up. 'At least until we need the fighters down here!'

'_Bristol_'s clear, Captain,' Galaway said as Aster resealed the hatchway. Dena didn't even reply, feeding power back through to the main engines as the _Churchill_ lifted off once more.


	24. Getting There

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: POV switch for plot purposes. I mean, all Dena's doing is flying about right now so let's take a look at another angle.**

_Part 24­- Getting There_

Zee was nervous. More nervous than she at all cared to admit. She would have felt better if she'd been sitting with Cas and the kids but everyone was under orders to remain in their own quarters until their call to the dock for their lift. What was more frustrating was that there was no way of telling how much longer she had to wait- she had been sitting at the table for four hours now. Before that she'd slept herself out for ten hours, a rare luxury. All her spare clothes, along with the pendant that had belonged to her mother, was now sealed in a vacuum-wrapped cargo rack, possibly already in orbit without her. And the worst of it was that she had no idea where Link was or what he was currently doing.

She was about to rise and get something to eat- not because she was hungry, but because it was something to do and might do something to calm the butterflies in her stomach. That thought made her pause and she wondered if soon she might actually be able to _see_ butterflies and figure out why that saying existed. But before she could dwell on it there was a loud bang on her door, then another, then a third. That was the signal, yet she had to take several deep breaths before going out. Then she followed the crowds along and found Cas waiting by the end of the walkway with a child firmly attached to each arm.

'We're going, Zee, we're going!' Lorrie squealed, all but bouncing up and down.

'Stop _wriggling_,' Cas said to her, half-laughing.

'But we're gonna _fly_, ma!' Isaac protested. Their enthusiasm made Zee smile and she extended a hand.

'Here, Isaac, you come here before your ma's arm drops off.' When he obeyed Cas smiled.

'Thanks, Zee. C'mon, we'd better get up to the dock. Don't want to miss our lift!'

Up in the dock was a mess of people but Zee had lived in Zion all her life and guessed that behind the myriad of officers running about and shouting, everything was in fact perfectly organized. Following the motions of the directing crews, the ungainly quartet found themselves clustered around the central operations building along with about sixty other people from their own level.

'Look, Aunty Zee!' Isaac pointed at a pad, where a ship at least twice as big as the _Mjolnir_, the largest of the hoverships that Zee knew of, was parked. Its rear hatch stood open and a small group of twenty people were filing inside to sit down. Some others in uniforms like the one Dena Reese wore- Fleet uniforms- were helping them strap in. Then everyone was inside and the hatch closed, the long podlike structures held tightly to either side of the hull near the back suddenly glowing blue as the ship lifted from the ground.

'There's another one,' Cas said, also pointing to indicate.

'They got guns!' Isaac seemed to find this wonderful.

'They must travel in pairs to protect each other,' Zee suggested. Cas nodded.

'Let's hope there's not much to protect each other _from_.'

'Another one- and another one!' The children were by now both bouncing up and down, free hands waving about to indicate. Zee had a hard time keeping a grip on Isaac but didn't dare let him go in case he got lost.

'Which one do we get to go on, mama?' Lorri asked, ceasing her bouncing for a moment to stare up at Cas and tug on her hand.

'I don't know, honey,' Cas replied, smiling. Just then one of the crews came past.

'Four for lift!'

Without thinking, Zee caught Cas' arm and pulled her and Lorri forwards.

'We're a four. Level six.'

'Ready to go? Right, you're at bay three. Better run or you'll miss her!' The man waved a hand in the appropriate direction and then was off.

'You heard him, kids!' Cas said, obviously catching the edge of the children's excitement as much as Zee was, judging by the outright grin now on her face. Lorri and Isaac were certainly more than agreeable enough to jogging across to bay three, which was currently empty. At the gap in the railings that served as a gateway to the bay they were halted sharply by a slim woman with a shaved head, whose arm plugs visible due to her rolled-up sleeves marked her as pod-born.

'How many?' she asked.

'Four,' Cas replied. 'We were told to come over here.'

'About damn time.' The woman smiled to soften the cuss. 'C'mon, your ride's almost here.' She led them across to the huddle of people at the far end of the bay. 'Now you stay to the _right_, okay? You're on the _Churchill_. I've been asked to tell everyone not to throw up so don't.'

'There it is, there it is!' Isaac shouted as two ships came through the open gate. Zee noted the rather bored faces on the men in the APUs and realized that whatever measures Fleet had put in the tunnel route, they were obviously very effective at keeping the sentinels occupied. However once the ship landed she switched her attention entirely to getting herself and Isaac on board. There were four rows of seats, two and two facing each other, with rather heavy-looking shoulder bars fixed above them. Zee lifted Isaac into one seat and took the one to the right of it. Cas put Lorri next to her brother and then took the chair at the end of the row. Two Fleet officers came in and began pulling down the metal bars, which seemed to be attached to flexible levers of some sort since they came down far enough to secure even little Lorri firmly in her seat. Then it came to Zee's turn and she found herself looking at Dena Reese.

'Hey, Zee, well how's that for a coincidence?' Dena gave a firm downwards yank on the bar. As others had done, Zee lifted her arms away from her sides to allow it to lower, and found that once it locked in place with a heavy clank she was still able to breathe but her only possible movement was to turn her head from side to side. Before she could say anything, however, Dena was at the end of her row and then had disappeared towards the front of the ship. The position of the bar on the stocky man next to her didn't allow Zee to look past him, however she craned her neck, so she glanced back at Isaac instead. He seemed quite delighted about the whole thing and was kicking his legs excitedly; luckily the aisle between their facing row was wide enough to avoid bruises on the shins of the person opposite him.

'You okay?' she asked.

'Yeah.' He grinned at her. 'Dena's gonna fly us! How cool is _that_?'

'There aren't any windows!' Lorri sounded disappointed. 'I thought we were gonna see the sky!'

'We will, honey. A little later,' Cas assured her. Zee wished she felt as confident as the older woman sounded, but didn't have time to dwell on it as a loud thrum filled the cabin and there was a sense of sudden acceleration. From what little she could see of the cockpit window, Zee could discern a blur of motion as the familiar interior of the dock was replaced by a seemingly endless haze of tunnels.

'Goodbye Zion,' she whispered, feeling her eyes grow damp. When she sneaked a glance at Cas she found that there were tears pouring unabashedly down her friend's dark cheeks. Squeezing her eyes shut, Zee forced herself to think of what was coming, rather than what was left behind.

_Grass…trees…butterflies…blue sky…stars…_

'We're here!' Isaac shouted. Zee's eyes snapped open again in shock.

'Already?' she heard herself say.

'_Yeah_, Dena said her ship was fast and she was right!' Isaac was somehow managing to bounce up and down despite the restraints. Before Zee could reprimand him, however, the ship settled to the ground with a light thump and the bars popped open, drifting up to lock again in their released positions. At the same time the hatch opened, filling the cabin with air that stank of the ozone-laden discharge of high electricity.

'Everybody out! Let's move it!'

'Go on, Isaac, go-' Zee got to her feet and somehow kept the overexcited little boy in sight until she could grab his hand again. Cas already had Lorri and was following everyone else, from the other little ship as well as their own. Zee saw then that the shuttles were just that- _little_- especially when compared to the gargantuan ovoid hulk that was parked on the plain before them.

'_Wow_!' was of course Isaac's verdict.

'They're going!' Lorri said, pointing, and Zee glanced back just in time to see the two shuttles lift off again and accelerate away back towards Zion once more. How many times had they made the journey already? she wondered. How many more times would they need to? But she pushed her thoughts aside to pay attention to the round-faced Fleet man who was currently addressing all forty of them.

'All right, you're the last load for the _Paris_ so you don't have to sit around and wait for twenty minutes like everyone else has had to. Count yourselves lucky there, eh?' The man bent down slightly to address Lorri. 'You looking forward to going orbital, young lady?' When he received a shy nod and a small smile he laughed. 'That's good, because you're just about to. All right, everybody this way!'

They all followed him obediently across the rocky ground to the underside of the enormous vessel, where he directed them up a wide ramp. They passed down a corridor and into a segment of the ship taken up entirely by two facing rows of chairs with the same heavy bar restraints. Zee and Cas sat down with the children between them- Lorri again complaining about the lack of a window. Another officer, this time a woman, moved down the much longer row pulling down restraints and locking them into position. Then she walked up to a chair at the end and belted herself in, pressing a button set in the wall.

'Block twenty-five, all set.'

There was no response except a sudden sensation of a distant vibration from deep within the massive vessel. Zee lifted her hands up to close her fingers around the shoulder bar. _Grass…trees…butterflies…_

'All right folks, we're lifting now,' the woman announced from her seat. 'I'm senior crewman Julia Garis, but you civvies can call me Jules. You're in block twenty-five aboard the Carrier Launch Ship _Paris_- last load aboard, as it happens. All of you who came up on the _Churchill_'s last run're in here, along with five from the _Bristol_, right?'

Glancing about at her fellow passengers, Zee realized this was indeed the case. There were two rows facing each other of thirteen each; twenty six in all, with the final seat taken up by Garis- Jules, rather.

'Alas and alack for the lack 'o windows,' Jules said with a grin at the child who was sitting next to her. 'But you'll see the stars when we reach the _Gormenghast_.' She consulted the display set into the wall near her seat. 'Right, now listen up and listen good. You're last on, first off. Once the _Paris_ is settled down I'll unlock your bars but don't all jump up at once, they got to get the hatch down first. I'll lead you out, and everybody stick together. Hold hands if you like, I don't care. Remember you're block twenty five. Then when call goes out for that block, you know it means you.'

A few minutes passed. Zee didn't know how long it took- maybe five, maybe twenty- but then suddenly there was a much heavier version of the thump that the shuttle had made when landing. Jules unfastened her straps and stood, grinning with a fondness that was almost maternal at her passengers.

'Welcome to the HSS _Gormenghast_, block twenty-five.' She hit a control that sent the bars back into their unlocked position, whereupon Zee and Cas both automatically laid a hand on Isaac and Lorri's shoulder respectively to prevent them leaping up. There was a pause until a voice filtered through on an intercom.

'_Clear for unloading_. _By the blocks_.'

'That's us, folks.' Jules led them back along the length of corridor and down the hatch into what was probably the single largest room Zee had ever seen in her entire life. She felt herself gasp just as everyone else did but didn't care in the least. It was _massive_, at least twice as big as the Temple; so big that even the _Paris_ seemed dwarfed. Every surface was metal or some kind of metallic plastic, gleaming silver or bright matt white.

'Is this the planet, mama?' Lorri asked Cas.

'I don't think so, honey,' Cas replied, although she sounded uncertain and glanced at Zee in wonder. 'At least I'm pretty sure it isn't.'

'This must be the _Gormenghast_,' Zee told her, still drinking in the enormous room. 'I guess that's why they call it a supership, huh?'

Both women's heads snapped around at a shout for 'block twenty five over here.' Then, in unspoken agreement, they firmly grabbed a child each and marched in the appropriate direction. Luckily 'over here' wasn't more than a hundred metres from the _Paris_' hatchway, or it might have been quite a hike. Zee could see the other twenty-four blocks forming up in lines of their own. Every so often the queues would move along one and a few people would head towards the dozen or so elevator shafts just beyond. It took a good few minutes, but eventually Zee found herself standing with Isaac at the front of their line, before a uniformed man carrying what looked like some sort of scanning device with a display screen attached to it.

'Right shoulder please,' he said pleasantly. She turned to present it to him, remembering that was where they'd put the chip in, and he ran the scanner over it in a businesslike manner.

'Name Zee?'

She gave a small nod, still a little too bewildered to speak.

'Okay, I've got you-' he stopped and frowned at Isaac. 'No listed dependents.'

'It's all right, he's mine,' Cas said quickly, motioning for Isaac to step back with her.

'Oh, right. Fine. Well, Zee, I've got you listed under an association with one Link. That right?'

She nodded again, for the hundredth time wondering where Link was and what he was doing. But to her surprise, the man's next line was

'I'm afraid he's still on the surface at the moment. We've got him for military personnel under operations.'

'He's a ship operator. On the _Nebuchadnezzar_.' Zee felt obliged to say something.

'Then I imagine he'll be up shortly, although the scheduling is a little haywire at the moment. Just put your thumb on there, please?' When she did so he nodded at her. 'You're B-144. The door'll open with your thumbprint. Welcome aboard, ma'am.'

'Thanks,' she managed to mumble, stepping out of the way as Cas went through a similar procedure before being allocated B-145.

'Well it looks like we'll be next door neighbours,' she said with a warm smile. 'Let's go check out those fancy elevators, shall we?'

More grateful than ever for her confident friend, Zee nodded agreement. The lifts were quite small, but just accommodated the four of them once the door closed. Cas consulted the touchpad in front of her.

'_Input destination_,' she read, lifting a finger. 'All right…B, one, four, four. Well, it says _input accepted_ so I assume that'll get us somewhere.'

'We're moving, mama,' Isaac said. Zee supposed this was correct, although she couldn't feel the motion at all- the only thing that so much as hinted at it were the dim flashes on the walls. Abruptly they ceased and the doors opened to reveal a corridor that seemed to stretch out endlessly in both directions.

'_Woah_!' Isaac and Lorri exclaimed in one voice.

'Woah indeed,' Cas agreed. Once all four of them stepped out the lift door closed again, so Zee walked across to read the number imprinted on the nearest other door, which was a soft grey shade rather than the polished white of the elevator.

'It says B-100,' she said.

'Well the one this side is B-99,' Cas replied, motioning to the right. 'So I guess we go that way. All right kids? We're looking for B-144 and B-145. Keep your eyes open.'

Unfortunately once they started walking, of course, the children read out the number on every single portal they passed, so in the end Zee was quite grateful when they reached what was apparently hers. After a moment's hesitation she placed her thumb on the small black square beside the door, which slid open with a soft whoosh.

'Very nice,' Cas said, leaning around her younger friend to peer inside. The room was a modest size, though in Zee's estimation could occupy a family of four comfortably by Zion standards, and the walls a light peach colour which was less intimidating than the grey and white of everywhere else. It was also completely bare except for what she took to be a large wardrobe in one corner, a half-metre square hatchway set into the wall directly opposite the door and a similar-sized screen set into the side of the wardrobe not housing the door.

'Nice colour,' she said with a small shrug at Cas, who laughed.

'Right kids, let's see if ours is as nice. Be back in a second, Zee.'

Once she'd gone the door remained open. After a short search Zee located another black square on the inside which closed the door by another application of her thumb. The wardrobe opened in a similar way to reveal that it was not a wardrobe but some sort of hygiene unit. As she turned to go out, she accidentally brushed her hand against what she'd taken for a wall panel, and then jumped back with a small squeal when it shot out from the wall, revealing itself to be a miniature sink. A trifle warily, she gave the edge a poke, whereupon it retreated back into the bulkhead and a smile crept onto her face as a chime went off. She went back out into the main room, wondering where it had come from, and in puzzlement opened the door to find Cas standing there.

'Ours is the same. Bare as a babe.' She shook her head in disapproval. 'What do they expect us to do, just curl up on the floor like savages?'

'No- Cas, I think everything's in the walls.'

'In the _walls_?'

'Yes.' Zee took her into the little room and demonstrated with the sink. 'And there are little panels like that everywhere- I think that's where the furniture stays until you need it.'

'Mama!' came Lorri's sudden shout. The two women rushed back out to find the kids bouncing up and down on a spacious bed that had apparently unfolded itself out of the wall.

'We poked one of the bar things and it slid out,' Isaac said.

After 'poking' the bed back into its hiding place, judicious investigation revealed two bunks in the opposite wall, a surface that could become a table and a small lamp presumably for evening use when the larger glowtubes in the ceiling dimmed. The children thought furniture that jumped out when it was poked was a marvellous thing, and Zee had to admit she wasn't much less enchanted by it.

'_Well_,' Cas said, planting her hands on her hips. 'Isn't this _nice_?' She looked about to add more when a loud thud made them all jump. It turned out to be a vacuum-wrapped package that had suddenly arrived in the black hatchway, and on closer inspection Zee laughed.

'It's just my clothes and things I brought with me.'

'You think our things are in _our_ room, mama?' Lorri asked eagerly.

'I don't doubt it, honey,' Cas said, by now obviously impressed. 'These people certainly seem to have everything figured out, don't they?' She turned slightly and absently prodded the table, which slid obediently back into the bulkhead behind it. 'Dozer would have _loved_ this, don't you think?'

That surprised Zee. It was the first time she'd heard Cas speak of her dead husband without descending immediately into melancholy. Although it saddened her to think that her two brothers would never see the wonders that were apparently just over the horizon, she had to smile at Cas' whimsical remark.

'Yeah, he would have.'

Cas sighed and then became brisk, turning to the children.

'Right. Well let's go and find our own beds, shall we? And see if our things have, ah, _arrived_.' She gave Zee one last smile. 'If you want company, we're right next door.'

'I know. Thanks.'

Once they were gone Zee went to the blank screen, which had drawn her interest. A trifle uncertainly, she gave it a light poke although what else could come shooting out of the wall she wasn't sure. But it didn't shoot out; instead, astonishingly, it lit up with a view of inky blackness studded with tiny glimmering points of light and part of a sooty grey sphere beneath. On one side of the screen a series of coloured buttons appeared but it was the view that drew her once she abruptly realised that she was looking at the stars and the Earth below. Then the picture became so incredibly beautiful that she didn't know if she'd ever be able to tear her eyes away from it.

'Link,' she whispered, feeling tears begin to trickle inexorably down her cheeks. 'My god, Link…you have to hurry up here and see this…'


	25. Hostile Interference

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: Okay, I lied when I said she was just flying around. And finally the famous _Desperadoes_ make an appearance. Apologies to all fans of _Starship Troopers_. No bugs, I promise.**

_Part 25- Hostile Interference_

For Dena Reese, the view was rather less pleasant. She was currently thanking her lucky stars that her passengers were made of stern enough stuff not to baulk or go into screaming hysterics at the apparently solid wall of sentinels in front of the _Churchill_'s nose. The blasted machines were intelligent, all right- they had abandoned the idea of forays into the tunnel route since a few dozen of their number met the wrong end of the electro-flash mines and other little traps the _Voltaire_'s scuttlebugs had littered the sewers with. They were also staying well away from the area where the carrier ships landed since some well-aimed large radius missiles from the marines had put an end to the original tactic of swamping the humans with sheer numbers. Instead they were swarming around the opening to the tunnel and throwing themselves- almost literally- at the shuttles as they came out. Initially the tactic had been a bloody inconvenience, but the numbers of sentinels present in the blockade was steadily increasing and soon, Dena thought, it was going to become bloody without the inconvenience however good their gunners were.

'We're clear,' Galaway said, his voice impressively even, as the _Churchill_ burst out of the sentinel swarm to finish the run flat out for the currently landed carrier _Atreyus_.

'The _Bristol_?' Dena asked.

'They're right behind us, Captain. Looking okay.'

'If we don't get some decent firepower in support I doubt that'll be the case much longer. Get me a channel to one of those marine units, Ensign.'

'Yes ma'am,' he said as she landed the ship and released their current load. 'I've got you Captain Tirone, ma'am, on the _Radical_.'

'Good name for a destroyer,' Dena said with a snort, adjusting her headset. 'Captain Tirone, this is Captain Reese on the shuttle _Churchill_. Can any of your units be spared to make us some holes in that machine wall around the tunnel exit, Captain? Over.'

'Negative, Captain Reese, with sincere apologies. Nothing I'd like better than to whip some metal squid ass but we're under orders from Commander Pryce to hold position. Any of us moves, we make a hole in the perimeter and they're bound to aim straight for it. Over.'

'Shit,' Dena muttered. 'Understood, Captain. Reese out. Galaway, get me Wingeye.'

'Ma'am?'

'Do it!'

He scrambled to obey as Morris glanced back.

'We're ready to launch again, Captain.'

'Hang fire, Morris, and tell the _Bristol_ to stand by,' she said as Galaway gave her the nod. 'Commander Pryce, this is Captain Reese on the surface and in heavily hostile circumstances. Where're our fighters, sir? Over.'

'Squadrons currently preparing to deploy, Captain,' Pryce's voice came back in her ear. 'Should reach the surface in approximately ten minutes. Over.'

'Currently prepping?' Dena exploded. 'They were supposed to be _currently prepping_ when the first shuttles came down! Commander-'

'Stand by, Captain,' came the firm reply. 'One squad just launched. ETA to your position reads ninety-three seconds. Over.'

'In ninety-three seconds we can get another forty people out, squids or no squids,' Dena muttered, clamping her hand briefly over the mouthpiece, then pulled herself together. 'Acknowledged that, Commander. Be advised we are resuming our run. Out.'

'Captain, isn't that a little…unwise?' Galaway asked, a trifle nervously.

'It would be, Ensign, if I were only a shuttle pilot like our friend Lieutenant Warren. Tell the _Bristol_ to hold onto their hats.' Dena glanced back at the two gunners. 'Ready, boys?'

'Yes, _ma'am_,' they had the sense to respond.

'Good. Because here we go.' She lifted the _Churchill_ up and then arrowed her straight for the middle of the sentinel swarm in the distance. En route they passed the _Hektor_ and the _Tokyo_ headed for the carrier but she didn't even slow to take account of the condition of the other two ships. Morris and Jackson opened fire, and a microsecond later they were in the inside the hoarde. To Dena it was like a slightly more complicated asteroid field run- in this case the opposition didn't spin around aimlessly, it span aimed _at_ her, and it also had legs which kept getting in the way. Fortunately the Jackson and Morris, along with the gunners on the accompanying _Bristol_, were good at their job and any stray limbs directly in her flight path tended to get sheared off, but the squids' intelligence apparently included a positive delight in kamikaze manoeuvres as they threw themselves at the _Churchill_ regardless, buffeting the shuttle from all sides.

'Holy shit, there must be _thousands_ of them,' Galaway said in a low voice.

Before Dena could respond the ping-ping of laser fire increased, and was quickly followed by the long, low whine of sound that increased in pitch sharply and then faded again. Her face broke into a grin. Makaulies! There was no mistaking the sound of _those_ engines, even in a mess of clanking sentinels.

'Get me that squad leader, Ensign!'

'Right here, Captain.'

'Makauly squad captain, this is Dena Reese on the _Churchill_. That's bloody good timing! Over.'

'It's great to hear your voice again, Captain. Glad we dropped in. Over.'

She gave a whoop of delight.

'_Ozzy_? You bastard, I should've known the Desperadoes would be first in the fray. Over.'

'You got us trained up well, Captain. We were ready to drop at full strength when the rest of 'em were still getting their boots on properly. How may we assist? Over.'

Full strength? That meant all eighteen ships were in the air. Dena didn't care to dwell over who had taken over captaincy of her squad in her absence, although from the sound of it Dale Osborn, her exec, was running the show. Surely they hadn't promoted the crazy son of a bitch?

'All right, Ozzy, leave half of the squad up here to make a hole for the next pair running up. The rest of you can follow us down the tunnels and give Zion dock a flyby to show 'em you're here. Over.'

'Morale purposes, Captain? Roger that. Oh, and we've got a spare part in the _Riot_ for that heap you're currently flying if you're interested in a transfer.'

That _did_ make Dena smile as she levelled the _Churchill_ out along the tunnels The _Riot_, her own treasured fighter, had been hers for the past six years since she'd been granted the captaincy of the Desperadoes. And that little ship was where she belonged, listening to the elaborate cusses of her gunner Lu Davis rather than lugging civvies to and from a lift site.

'Make sure the shit brings my baby down okay in that dock, Ozzy. I'll see you there. Reese out.'

'Captain?' Galaway asked anxiously.

'I'm jumping ships to do my real job once we reach Zion again, Ensign. You can have a proper shuttle pilot in here who knows how to handle the big asses on these donks.'

He nodded, doing a rather good job of concealing his nonetheless obvious disappointment.

'Sorry to lose you, Cap'n,' Morris said without embarrassment. Jackson grunted accord.

'I'll make sure I keep the bastards off your behinds, boys,' she replied with a grin, quickly working the controls to land the _Churchill_ in Zion once more.

'Captain-' Galaway began as she rose.

'What is it, Connor?'

He blushed furiously at the informal address.

'I- I just wanted to say it's been an honour to fly with you again, Captain.'

'Likewise, Ensign. Let's hope it's not the last time.' She gave him a friendly clap on the shoulder and a wink, pulling a stimulant tablet from her breast pocket as she emerged from the hatchway and swallowing it. The tabs were a slower-release energy boost than the hypo equivalent, but at the moment she was running on pure adrenalin so it didn't really matter all that much. Outside, she watched the inhabitants of Zion make appreciative noises as the nine Makaulies landed on the spare bays and popped their cockpit hatches. One lone figure jumped out and sprinted down towards her, throwing a quick salute.

'Lieutenant Lacey Cassan requesting the _Churchill_.'

'She's all yours, Lieutenant. Good luck,' Dena replied easily.

'Thank you, Captain.' The woman immediately went to work, ushering in the twenty passengers for her lift and then beginning to set the restraints. Dena resumed her course towards the half squad, where every head was now turned towards her- including the gunners, who faced the rear in the cockpit and so had to twist around quite a way. However when she reached the walkway to the bay they'd used she was intercepted by a large mass of human who grabbed her arm and spun her around. Wrenching herself loose, she opened her mouth for a blistering reprimand only to have it die on her lips.

'Sparks, what is it?'

He pulled off the headset he was wearing and fixed her with a pleading look, using his enormously expressive eyes to good effect.

'Den, are you _seriously_ planning to go and dogfight with sentinels in one of those things?'

'I'm more than planning, Sparks, I'm halfway to my ship.' She resumed walking but he scuttled alongside her in a surprisingly scurrying step for such a large man.

'You're going to get yourself _killed_! Can't you stick to the shuttles? At least they're just in and out, not _looking_ for trouble as they go!'

'Sparks, we've been through this,' she snapped, stopping on the pad and whirling to face him, making him pull up sharply in front of her. 'I'm a fighter pilot, _not_ a shuttle runner.'

'Problem, Captain?' Ozzy yelled from his ship, sitting up slightly to see better.

'No problem, Ozzy,' she called back, then fixed Sparks with a steely glare.

'Just listen to me for a second,' he said fiercely. 'Those aren't asteroids up there, Dena, they're _sentinels_, things that _hate_ humans and will destroy themselves without a second thought if they think there's even the _slightest_ chance they'll take some humans with them. Are you listening to me?' he added in a half-shout when she rolled her eyes. 'They're _real_ _enemies_, Dena! You _can't handle them_!'

'How _dare_ you tell me what I can and can't handle with _my_ squad-' she began, enraged.

'I don't want to see you go down in a blaze of glory! Especially with _blaze_ being the operative word!'

'Then you won't have to see me at all!' she shot back with real venom, and jerked her head in the direction he'd come from. 'You're on dock crew. Go do your damn job.' Without waiting for a response she spun away towards the _Riot_, seeing Lu give her a thumbs-up.

'_Dena_!' Sparks roared after her, but of course there was no response. 'Goddamn it, Dena!' Then he too turned and stalked away, jamming the comset viciously back onto his head. Dena ignored him and swung herself up into the cockpit, feeling the familiar seat padding accept her, familiar smells and sounds enclose her in their almost tangible embrace. She adjusted her headset to the squad com frequency just in time for the chorus of greetings that echoed in from the nine around her.

'Going a little native, were we Dizzi?' someone said playfully.

'_Rollins_,' she barked, grinning.

'Captain!' said the same voice, less playfully.

'You're babysitting. Stick with the _Churchill_ and the _Bristol_ and see them back to the lift point.'

'Awww, Captain!' But she saw his ship lifting off to comply.

'All right, Desperadoes. Let's go do what we do best,' she said simply. A loud cheer made her ears ring as she extended the headset to cover both of them. 'All set, Lu?'

'To do what _I_ do best, Diz!'

'Then let's show those squids who's boss. Desperadoes! _Clear for lift_!'


	26. Too Much Fun

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: Another POV switch while Dena's busy blasting stuff.**

_Part 26- Too Much Fun_

Neo, Trinity couldn't help thinking, was having far more fun than he ought. The _Neb_ crew had just come off their last six hour shift in the dock, which basically involved counting heads and making sure enough people were ready to get on the drop ships as they arrived, but instead of getting some sleep or just taking a chance to sit around inactive for a while he was floating his boots around the room again. She was beginning to almost wish that Maloney had never taught him that trick.

'Neo, why don't you get some rest?'

'I won't sleep,' he said. 'I'm too…I'm _buzzing_, Trin. You know? Like someone sent a thousand volt shock through me and it hasn't faded out yet.' Letting the boots drop to the floor with a clatter, he jumped- yes, actually _jumped_ like a little boy- onto the bed next to her and lay down so his face was right next to hers, grinning. 'Are you really that tired?'

She laughed at his mischievous air and was about to kiss him when someone whacked their door. Neo promptly jumped up again and went to answer it, revealing the solemn face of one of the dock crews.

'_Neb_?'

'Yeah. Formerly.' His goofy smile had no effect on the man.

'You're up.'

'But we just got back,' Trinity protested, rising.

'Not for duty. It's your lift.' And he was gone.

'We're _lifting_?' Neo demanded of the empty air, then glanced back at Trinity.

'I guess so,' she said with a shrug. 'I didn't think all the non-military personnel would be gone already.'

'I've lost track of how many shifts we've done,' he replied. 'No idea how long it's been.' Then his eyes glazed over slightly with the look she'd come to recognise as one of the new uses of his abilities. _Maloney_!

_I hear ya. Sheesh, boyo, your range is increasing every time you holler me up_!

_Trinity and I just got told to lift. Are all the civilians up already_?

_Evac's_ _been running better part of a hundred, a hundred and twenty hours already, Neo_.

'Holy shit,' he said out loud.

'What is it?' Trinity asked.

'Maloney says evac's been underway for over a hundred hours.' He shook his head as he sat down to put his boots back on. 'We must've done a _lot_ of shifts.' _Thanks. I guess I'll see you on the _Gormenghast_ then_.

_Me and all my freaky Psi buddies, kiddo_! _Later_. Maloney broke the contact.

'C'mon,' Neo said to Trinity. 'We don't want to miss that shuttle or they'll make us walk up there.'

Once the pair got outside they could much more easily believe that two thirds of Zion was gone. The walkways, usually bustling with people, were deserted. It was almost eerily silent save for the clang of their steps, and they unconsciously felt for each other's hands.

'I've never known it this quiet,' Trinity whispered as they stepped into the elevator. 'Even during the Temple gatherings…it still seems _full_, somehow. Now it even _feels_ empty.'

Neo punched the dock level into the controls and with a protesting shudder the lift started to move.

'Don't worry, Trin. I'm sure the _Gormenghast_'ll be buzzing.'

'A _ship_ full of you in this mood?' she asked impishly. 'I don't think I could handle that.'

'You'll cope,' he shot back with another grin just as the doors opened. 'Holy shit. Where'd everybody go?' Even the dock seemed somehow vacant. Before there had always been a large huddle of people around the control centre waiting for their lift, but now a few of the bays were lacking their crews and even half a dozen APUs stood empty and abandoned near their storage facility.

'They must have started lifting crews straight from their bays,' Trinity said, about to start along the walkway to Control when she spotted Morpheus and Link. The latter gave them a lively wave so they changed course to bay six where another two crews were also standing ready. Trinity knew Soren's crew from the _Vigilant_ and waved, but was less familiar with the stern looking Ice and her large crew from the _Gnosis_ so contented herself with a nod to them. However she was pleasantly surprised to see her adopted brother Ghost apparently in charge of the bay, although since the ship crews were tagged together for work teams and lifts it was safe to assume that Niobe and their operator, whateverhisnamewas, Sparks, were about somewhere as well.

'Ready to go, Trin?' Ghost asked her with one of his implacable smiles.

'Jittery but all set,' she replied.

'What's the view like up there?' Neo asked. Ghost snorted.

'It's incredible. But apparently you won't see it on the run up. No windows on the carriers.'

'Shit. No fair!'

'Do you know when you're up?' Trinity asked.

'We're next lift,' Ghost replied with something approximating a proper smile. She returned it warmly.

'Then I'll see you up there, brother.'

He looked about to reply but then suddenly touched one finger to his earpiece, jerking his head towards the pad.

'Your ride's here.' Then he was off across the bay to hurry along the infantry units who were lugging the baggage frames.

'Ready, Morpheus?' Neo asked.

'As I'll ever be,' the bigger man replied, unfazed as always. Link, on the other hand, was grinning so hard that his face was bound to split in half before very long.

'Has Zee been up long?' Trinity asked him as the _Neb_ crew hung back to permit the _Gnosis_ to board first.

'Yeah. Well we're level six so she didn't have long to sit around compared with the council and all that lot down near the Temple. She's up there waiting for me!' He shook his head. 'And I sure hope she's got something cooked up cos man, I am _starving_.'

'How the hell can you think about food at a time like this?' Trinity exclaimed.

'Because he's a guy,' said a dry voice from behind them.

'Niobe,' Morpheus said with admirable composure.

'If any of you see Dena up there, tell her to watch her ass, from me,' Niobe said, flicking her eyes briefly sideways. Following her gaze, Trinity saw Sparks noting something on a jot pad and was aware of a subtle tension in his every movement.

'Dena went up with the fighters,' she said softly. Niobe nodded.

'Come on, you'd best get in or they'll leave without you.'

Fortunately the more solemn mood evaporated as soon as the co-pilot passed down their row and pulled the restraining bars down over their heads.

'Like being on a damn rollercoaster!' Neo exclaimed, looking at Trinity. 'Did you ever go on a rollercoaster, before you were unplugged?'

'I can't remember. But it does remind me a little of a fairground ride.'

'Best ride in the park!' Link agreed. Morpheus smiled slightly but said nothing as the view through the cockpit window, what they could see of it, dissolved to leave Zion behind and replace it with the speeding blur of tunnel walls. Then abruptly they came smack up against a mass of silver.

'_Shit_!' Trinity heard Ice say.

'Sentinels,' Neo whispered. 'My god. There are thousands of them. _Tens_ of thousands.' He looked at Trinity again and his smile was gone. 'Dena's dogfighting out in that? No wonder that poor bastard is so worried about her. How in hell are we going to get through that?'

However just as he said this the loud ping-ping of laser fire echoed around them and the sentinel swarm parted as neatly as the Red Sea. The compact, streamlined body of a fighter craft arrowed neatly up and over them, spinning around before flying directly in front of the shuttle, quite literally blasting them a path through the almost solid mass of machine bodies. It took several agonising minutes, during which Trinity was sure nobody in the ship including herself dared to breathe, but then abruptly they were clear and rocketing across bare landscape towards a massive squatting hulk that she took to be a carrier ship. The fighter lifted up and away, presumably to return to the battle and help the next ship get through the same way.

'Goddamn but I wouldn't want their job,' she heard Axel say in a low voice as the ship landed on the ground with a light thud. Immediately the restraints popped open and they all sprang to their feet to get out. Almost immediately a delighted grin dawned on Neo's face again.

'Holy shit. Now _that_ is a big ship.'


	27. Goodbye Zion

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: Tissues ready, people.**

_Part 27- Goodbye __Zion_

'Commander! The squids have broken into the tunnels!'

'That's damn fine timing,' Lock muttered, glancing about him. The operations centre was now all but empty of people- himself, Captain Mifune, six of the operating staff. Eight men still sat in the APUs facing the open gate, but that was it. They were all that was left of the Zion ground staff. 'Where's that goddamn shuttle?'

'We have the _Churchill_ on approach, sir,' Mattis said. 'They're taking fire. Two fighters are escorting.'

'Good.' Lock glanced sideways. 'Mifune, get your men out of those APUs and over to the nearest landing bay.'

'What about the units, sir?' asked one of the operators.

'Leave 'em where they stand.'

Mifune nodded and grabbed a comset to issue his orders, which met with some resistance.

'We can't just leave them sitting here, sir!' Lock heard one man shout down his line.

'You'll do as your goddamn told, soldier,' Mifune barked. 'They're no good to us now. Now unstrap yourselves and walk away! That's an _order_!' Evidently there was no further protest as he lowered the mouthpiece with a nod to Lock. 'APU troops are recalled, sir. Heading for bay two.'

'Then that's where we're going. Mattis, tell the _Churchill _we'll be waiting for her in bay two.'

'Yes sir.' Mattis relayed the message. 'They acknowledge, sir.'

'All right.' Lock took a deep breath and glanced at the officers surrounding him. 'This is it, people. Drop your posts. We're lifting from bay two. _Move_.'

They obeyed instantly. Lock lingered for a moment and then followed, flanked by Mifune. The remainder of the APU corps were lined up neatly on the pad since the last of the cargo had gone up a good few hours beforehand. Lock heard Mifune's sigh and looked at him.

'Never thought I'd see the day when we abandoned this dock- at least not when we were still able to stand,' the captain said to him.

'Neither did I,' Lock agreed. He had to admit that there was something of the soldier in him that still rebelled at the thought of what was, essentially, the ultimate retreat, surrendering the last human territory on the planet to the machines. But he tempered that by remembering his promise to the Council upon his appointment as commanding officer that his sole concern and aim was to ensure the continued survival of the people of Zion. As he saw it now, there was no better way to do just that.

'Here she comes!' someone shouted as the _Churchill_ swooped in to land, the hatch popping open. However it was a rather young-looking pilot and a man whom Lock recognised as a gunner who stepped out. The others went in immediately and sat but Lock himself addressed the young man.

'Are you the pilot?'

'I am now, sir. Ensign Galaway.' He tossed off a quick salute. 'Captain Reese is providing escort in the _Riot_ along with Lieutenant Osborn in the _Whirlwind_. I was copilot for Lieutenant Cassan, but we've been taking heavy fire and she's out, sir, injured when a screen blew up in her face.'

Lock grimaced. He'd seen plasma burns before and they were never pretty.

'You sure you can handle this heap, Ensign?'

'Sir, I was a rookie with Captain Reese on my training run.'

'Then I'll take that as a yes.' Without further comment Lock stepped into the ship and found the seat next to Mifune which had a good view out of the cockpit window. One of the gunners yanked the restraint down over him as Galaway came in and closed the hatchway, strapping himself into the pilot's chair and addressing the mouthpiece of his headset.

'Desperadoes, this is the _Churchill_ preparing to depart.'

The view outside the cockpit began to move as the ship lifted, then without a moment's warning the dock vanished and they were in the tunnels. Lock glanced back at his officers and was unsurprised to notice that he was not the only one with tears coursing down his cheeks.

'Holy shit,' Dena heard Lu say. 'How many of these bastards _are_ there? I swear we've already blown up enough of 'em to repopulate Mars twice over!'

'They just keep on coming,' Dena said through gritted teeth. 'Where the hell is Galaway?'

'Got 'em, Captain. Coming up hard behind us.'

Dena nodded, half to herself, and took a deep breath. Since her last four-hour recoup period up on the _Gormenghast_ she'd been flying for nineteen hours, kept awake on a mixture of adrenalin and the occasional stimulant tablet. But this was the last run. Just one last run.

'_Ramesses_, this is Reese. How're you guys holding up? Over.'

'Not so good, Captain. Those squids are just throwing themselves at our guns. There are so ma- _shit_! They're going for the scuttlebugs!'

'_Ramesses_, report!' Dena barked.

'Sorry, ma'am. We just lost our line with the _Gormenghast_. The bastards have ripped the scuttlebugs to shreds.'

Dena made one of her snap decisions.

'_Ramesses_, lift. Get your ass up to the _Gormenghast_.'

'We're awaiting the _Churchill_, Captain-'

'Bullshit! I told you to _lift_, Lieutenant! The _Churchill_ can get herself up there, she's the last load. Over.'

'Affirmative, Captain. We're lifting now. Over.'

'Tell the marines to get themselves out of there too. Reese out.'

'We lost the _Gormenghast_ too, Captain,' Lu put in. 'Scuttlebugs are out.'

'Blast.' But Dena kept herself focused as the _Churchill_ arrived. 'Ozzy, flank their starboard side. We'll cut a path through the squids for them.'

'Got that, Dizzi. The _Ramesses_ is gone. Me for a quick finish and a cup of coffee later.'

'Ozzy, if I'm being honest I've almost forgotten the taste of coffee. All right, Lu, here we go.'

'Got my display on the forward guns. Holy _shit_, they're coming in at all angles. Okay, Diz, hit it!'

Dena punched the accelerator and then they were in. By now the sentinels really were coming from all directions, having broken through the tunnel defences by sheer force of numbers, and quite literally hurling themselves at the unfortunate _Churchill_. The _Riot_ and the _Whirlwind_ lived up to their names as they twisted and dove around the shuttle, trying to keep up an almost continuous rain of covering fire. Then there was a shout over the com and the _Flint_ roared in overhead with the _Unholy_ backing her up. As the rest of the squadron homed in on them Dena switched her com channel.

'Galaway, are you reading me? Over!'

'Just about, Captain,' came the ensign's reply. 'Over.'

'Listen, Galaway, the _Ramesses_ is gone. You take her up out of this mess yourself ASAP, get me? Aim high!'

'Understood, Captain. Out.'

'Dizzi, we've got incoming!' Becky Thomas yelled from the _Peewee_.

'We got a planet full of incoming!' Dena shouted back.

'I mean _serious_ incoming, Captain! Not squids!'

'She's right, Diz, I got heavy-duty energy signatures coming our way fast,' Lu confirmed. 'Looks like little baby ones packed to the teeth with high-detonation shit. Nasty little buggers. And too damn fast to get a clear shot at.'

As she spoke several bone-jarring explosions rocked the _Riot_.

'Damn it all, they're taking out half their own in the way!'

'I don't think that bothers them too much,' Dena snapped. 'Squad, umbrella formation around the _Churchill_. Get 'em up and out! Ozzy, take charge!'

'What about you?'

'Lu and I are going to do a little distraction work. Get going!'

'Yes ma'am, are you sure you don't want one of us for supporting fire?'

'Damn positive! Now scat!'

'Captain Reese, this is Ensign Galaway. With all due respect, ma'am, what the _hell_ are you doing?'

'Shut your mouth and get those people to the _Gormenghast_, mister.'

'Captain, I-'

'That's an _order_, Ensign!'

'_Shit_!' The channel went off. Dena plunged the _Riot_ back down through the mass of sentinels and then pulled her back up to skim at almost hovercraft level along the ground.

'Lu, we got nukes equipped?'

'Yeah, sure. We were told to prep for hostiles. You got two one megaton missiles and one fifteen megaton dropper. Why d'you ask?' Only Lu Davis could possibly sound so casual while still firing frantically at a surrounding swarm of nasty beasties, Dena thought with grim humour.

'You see that big-ass energy reading off to port, about fifty klicks?'

'Yeah.'

'That's the power plant for the machines. Where all the battery animals are plugged in.' Dena could feel bile rising in her throat at the mere thought of doing what she was about to do. 'Send one of the missiles that way and stand by to launch the second.'

'She won't hit, Diz, it's too far in atmosphere for these babies.'

'Just do it. I need the machines to guess what we're up to so they follow us rather than the _Churchill_.'

'Gotcha. Firing one.' Lu hit the control and then fired out on the fore cannons to clear a path for the missile. It sped away over the landscape into the distance, although Dena knew it stood no chance of reaching its target- the offensive missiles, designed for use in a vacuum, didn't carry enough fuel to make such a distant target when working with such factors as air resistance.

'Fire two,' she ordered.

'Firing two. And the _Churchill_ is clear, Captain,' Lu said. 'But there's no way we can pull up through that- _shit_, they're following us. They're _all_ following us!'

'I know,' Dena said through gritted teeth. 'That's just what I want 'em to do. Stand by to release the dropper on my mark.'


	28. Final Run

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: Okay, okay, MORE tissues ready…**

_Part 28- Final Run_

'You know I could really get to like this stuff,' Wurm remarked. 'What's it called again, Niobe?'

'Coffee,' Niobe told him with a grin. 'And be careful, caffeine's proven to be addictive.'

'I could get an addiction? Cool. Haven't had one of those before.'

'You stupid shit,' Ice said to him. 'Besides, this isn't coffee as I remember it. I reckon it's some kind of caffeine substitute to _avoid_ the addiction part.'

'How do you know coffee as you remember it isn't the wrong taste?' Neo asked her, remembering a certain conversation he'd had a long time ago about Tasty Wheat. 'How would a machine know what coffee was supposed to taste like?'

'Or chicken,' Trinity said, catching on. 'They couldn't figure out what to make that taste like-'

'-which is why chicken tastes like everything,' Morpheus finished with a roll of his eyes.

'Old joke?' Ghost asked.

'_Very_ old,' Trinity told him. 'Practically prehistoric, in fact.'

'Well, the old ones _are_ supposed to be the best,' Maggie said.

'Only according to the people who haven't heard them a million goddamn times before,' Roland said in an unmistakeably weary tone that made everyone laugh. Niobe glanced back and sighed.

'Sparks, will you _quit_ pacing? You're starting to make _me_ nervous.'

Grumbling, he complied. Neo's felicitous discovery- via Maloney- of the communal mess halls situated every forty rooms or so on each colony residential level had enabled the crews of the _Logos_, _Nebuchadnezzar_, _Gnosis_, _Vigilant_ and _Mjolnir_ to meet up for a drink and something to eat together since their lift order had meant they ended up within a few doors of each other- except for AK, Jax, Mauser, Jacob and of course Link, who had civilian family elsewhere so different allocated quarters with their respective bedmates. Niobe, for her part, couldn't remember what coffee had tasted like in the Matrix so was perfectly happy to gulp down generous mugfuls of the delicious stuff from the dispenser. She was judiciously beginning to allow herself to feel happy for the first time in years- no more patrols, no jacking in, no Agents, no sentinels, no being cold, no goddamn nutrient substitute either. The meal they'd had was, at a guess, a small slice of grilled steak with potatoes and green vegetables. It hadn't been an overly large plateful, either, but Niobe found that she was absolutely stuffed; another new and surprisingly pleasant sensation. The only problem with the mess hall, in fact, was that it lacked a display screen like the ones present in all their quarters, which by careful experimentation had proven to be a useful data access device as well as capable of being set to just view the outside of the ship by activating the charmingly named 'window mode.'

'How much longer, d'you think?' Binary asked nobody in particular. 'Surely we're close to having everyone up and out by now.'

'I could ask Maloney,' Neo said with a wink at Trinity.

'You keep bothering that poor man and he's going to saw your skull open.'

'_He_ told me to contact him as often as I needed to. Something about working my mental muscles.'

'So ask him,' Sparks said. 'And ask him how the fighters are doing, while you're at it, huh?'

'Sparks,' Niobe said quietly, laying a hand on his shoulder. 'She's a good pilot. She'll be okay.'

Neo's eyes suddenly refocused from the slight mistiness they assumed when he used his as yet rather limited TP skills.

'Oh my god,' he whispered.

'What?' Trinity demanded, just as the door opened to admit Commander Lock and Captain Mifune. The others immediately gave a small collective cheer since if Lock was up, everyone was up. However the commander's face was grave and unusually bleak.

'Jason?' Niobe asked, rising in concern. 'What is it? What's wrong?'

He responded by stepping aside to reveal a rather bedraggled-looking young man in a Fleet uniform. His hair was sticking out at all angles, one side of his face bore a sooty burn mark and there was a cut on his forehead. When he spoke his voice was exhausted, despondent, almost tearful.

'Desperadoes squadron provided escort to the _Churchill_ into orbit. The Makauly fighter _Riot_, under Captain Dena Reese and gunner Louise Davis, remained behind to draw sentinel fire.' He swallowed hard. 'After the _Churchill_ made dock, we received a report from fighter deck control. They've lost sensor readings of the _Riot_. She's… she's believed to be down.' He closed his eyes and turned to walk, half-stumble, from the room, leaving a stunned silence behind him.

'Oh my god,' Niobe whispered.

'We were stuck halfway up, below the cloud level,' Lock said slowly. 'Even with the rest of the squadron giving covering fire we couldn't move. Then the sentinels just…left. Ensign Galaway-' he gestured to indicate the young officer who'd just left the room '-believes that Captain Reese fired two nuke missiles to get the machines' attention, and then used her ship as live bait to draw them away. Towards the power plant.'

'But she could still be alive,' Neo protested. 'Just because they've lost sensor contact. They said the scuttlebugs were down so there's no signal getting through any more. The _Riot_ could still be down there!'

'Neo, that's one fighter ship with four guns against over ten _thousand_ sentinels,' Mifune said, shaking his head as he sat down. 'I don't know a pilot or gunner alive who could survive those odds, even in an orbital ship.'

Niobe shook her head, feeling tears come to her eyes and trying to ignore them as she turned, her voice dropping again to a whisper.

'Sparks…'

He stood up and walked out of the room without a word. She half made to follow but Morpheus' voice checked her sharply.

'Leave him.' When she glanced back he softened slightly. 'He'll need time.'

Lock sat down as Niobe did and she leaned very slightly against his side, still too shocked to try and properly think or feel.

'Reese was a damn good soldier for a woman who'd never been in a war,' Mifune said harshly as he took a chair. 'There were seventeen people on the _Churchill_ on that last lift. And _I_ think that she'd find two for seventeen more than a fair exchange. Like a _soldier_.'

'That doesn't make it right,' Trinity murmured, shaking her head. 'After everything she's done for us…she shouldn't have died for us as well.' She let her head fall onto Neo's shoulder when he put an arm around her.

'She was going to come visit my garden on Capella,' Niobe said, and then they all fell silent once more.


	29. A Fair Exchange

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: Heheh, you know we couldn't get rid of her that easily, right? Prepare to go OHMYGOODNESS-**

_Part 29- A Fair Exchange_

'_MARK_!'

The sudden lack of mass on the _Riot_ was a tangible thing as Dena swerved her violently into a vertical climb towards the black cloud layer above them. At the last second she spun to port and directed the ship straight along underneath the clouds, pushing the throttle to maximum. The gs pushed her back violently into her chair, compensators not withstanding, but by the time the flash of blinding white light went off to the rear they were well out of range of it.

'Lu, you still with me?'

'Live and kicking, Captain. Woo-hoo! That showed those bastards who rules _this_ solar system!'

'That it did,' Dena agreed with considerably less feeling, trying not to think about how many _human_ lives they'd just wiped out. Billions, Morpheus had said, _billions_ in the power plants, plugged into the Matrix, stuck in a dream world, enslaved without knowing it…

She hadn't liked that part. One didn't often get express orders from HQ, especially if one was the captain of a mere fighter squadron, but when she did…her mind drifted back unconsciously to the sealed datacard handed to her by an unknowing Captain Estalla just before the drop from the _Voltaire_. It had been keyed to her thumbprint and DNA scan. It had wiped itself clean after she'd read it exactly three times. _After evacuation of last Terran city, machine power source is to be destroyed._ That was it. Period.

The order was signed by the highest ranking officer in the Coalition, Fleet Admiral Peter Greys. Straight from HQ and the Congress. Never mind the humans plugged in. Never mind the homicide she'd just committed. It didn't make her feel any better, the hour or so they'd spent weaving in and out of the gargantuan towers, trying to lose enough of their pursuit that they could slow enough to _drop_ the damn nuke, seeing the fluid-filled pods with their captive occupants. Was that really living? Had she, in fact, _killed_ those people or done them a favour? Shaking her head to try in vain to clear it, Dena plotted a course straight up, off the Earth and away from the machines, back towards the _Gormenghast_.

Towards home.

Her debriefing, unsurprisingly, was conducted privately in Commander Pryce's officer without so much as a recording yeoman present.

'The Congress and the Admiralty believe that without a power source as abundant as the human animal the machines will be stranded and may very likely in fact die out, if that's the word, given enough time,' Pryce was saying matter-of-factly. 'Certainly they no longer have the resources to leave Terra, even if they do continue to survive after a fashion using nuclear fission or some other means of providing power for themselves. That one nuke, Captain, from what data we can gather, wiped out ninety percent of their entire army of sentinels, the power plant, the so-called 'growing fields', and also rendered a quite substantial tract of land highly radioactive, which admittedly doesn't affect the machines all that much directly but it will certainly prevent all possibility of them salvaging any of the organic material from the blast zone. If any survived, which I very much doubt. Fifty megatons is, after all, fifty megatons.'

'Yes, Commander.'

'Captain-' he stopped and sighed. 'Sit down, Dena.' When she did so he went to the dispenser and brought back two cups of strong black coffee, handing her one and taking a sip from the other.

'Sir?'

'Dena, drop that for a moment, will you? That last part may have been classified but as far as the record is concerned you walked out of here after I said the word megatons. Understood?'

She nodded, taking a mouthful of the coffee and swallowing with a light sigh.

'Now when we cruise back to Phobos to finish loading up for Capella, which will probably take a week at least, we'll have access to their high-grade neurology unit as well as Psi HQ. _They_, needless to say, know about the whole thing but are acting with their usual discretion by being totally close-mouthed about it.'

'Naturally.'

'Dena, will you _stop_ giving me that implacable look and _think_? Davis had no idea what was in that power plant but you did. You gave that order- you as good as pushed that button. And that's a _lot_ of blood to carry around on your hands.'

'You're telling me, Wesley?' she snapped, unable to keep the bitterness out of her voice.

'What I'm _trying_ to tell you is that Psi neurology have already agreed to…assist the officer who carried out the power plant operation on Earth. They can't take the memory _out_, Dena, but they can dampen it to just a blur and give you an overlay story for people who ask about those eighty-three minutes. That'll at least be enough to prevent you blasting yourself out of the nearest airlock up on fighter deck.' He reached across the table and lightly touched her hand where it was curled so tightly around the cup that he knuckles were white. 'The procedure isn't compulsory, Dena. But I strongly recommend you take it. And whether you do or you don't, think how many _trillions upon trillions_ in the colonies would have suffered or perished if those machines, having discovered there was something up here worth having, decided to go orbital and beyond. Billions for trillions, Dena. One for ten. At least in numbers, that sounds like a fair exchange to me.'

Draining her cup although the taste was suddenly sour in her mouth, Dena rose, a trifle shakily.

'Tell them to expect me, Commander.'

'I'll have Alyss call ahead, and not on the com.' He stood and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. 'Now go and get some rest, Captain Reese. You've earned it.

The temptation offered by a bath was almost impossible to resist, but as the last stimulant tablet began to wear off and the adrenalin that had powered her for the last nineteen hours since the last rest shift faded, Dena instead settled for a quick shower in almost scalding hot water after gulping down a liquid formula meal. All her limbs ached, her head was pounding in a rhythm strangely not unlike that of the _Riot_'s gun cannons firing on all barrels and her eyelids seemed to weigh somewhere around fifty kilos each, judging by the effort it was taking to hold them open. Pulling a vest and some loose-fitting trousers onto her weary body, she left the bathroom but stopped halfway across the main room in her quarters to do a double-take.

'_Sparks_? What in the name of the Omega Nebula- and how did you get _in_ here, anyway?'

'Maloney,' he said quietly. 'Did something to the lock.'

'ETK,' Dena muttered. 'That son of a bitch.' She ran her hands through her hair before summoning the energy to lift her chin and actually _look_ at her impromptu visitor.

'I thought you were dead,' he said in half a whisper.

'Huh?'

'They said- they said they'd lost your ship. That it was down.'

'We ended up dodging sentinels around the power plant,' she said, which after all was technically true. 'There's a hell of an energy signature around there. Must've masked us from the scanners.'

'I- I just-' He stopped and threw up his arms in frustration. 'Dena, I thought you were _dead_! Doesn't that _mean_ anything to you? For the better part of two hours I've just been sitting in my room staring at the wall because as far as I was concerned you were _gone_- and- and-'

She felt a smile begin to edge its way onto her face despite her exhaustion and walked forwards to take hold of his hands, lacing her fingers through his. He felt warmer than she'd ever known him to before, what with the temperature maintenance systems in Zion having been a lower priority for power consumption than most others.

'But I'm _not_ dead, Sparks. I'm right here.' Tilting her head back to look up at him, she brought his hands to settle on her waist and lifted hers to his face. 'I told you I wasn't going to die down there. Before we launched the _Logos_. D'you remember?'

He nodded, then shook his head ruefully.

'All I could think about was the last thing I said to you. Some shit about going down in a blaze of glory…it was so _stupid_. I just- I wish I'd said something else. Something that _meant_ something.' Pulling her closer, he wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin lightly on the top of her head. 'I should've wished you good luck, or thanked you for showing me the sky, or- or told you how much I love you. _Anything_ but what I _did_ say.'

'Well you've said it now,' she murmured. 'So it's okay.'

'No, it's _not_ okay, I mean-' he stopped and peered down at her as she yawned, then raised his eyebrows. 'Am I boring you?'

'No- no, I just- I've been piloting a Makauly fighter around sentinels for the past nineteen hours and I-I-' she tried unsuccessfully to stifle another yawn '-I'm bit beat.'

'_Nineteen_- holy shit. No wonder you're dead on your feet.' Before she could protest he had swung her up and carried her bodily into the far room, depositing her without ceremony on the bed. She felt like laughing but the energy deserted her and the best she could do was a vaguely insane-sounding chuckle as he pulled off his boots before stretching out beside her. He _was_ good to lay against, she had to admit, and definitely a lot warmer than she remembered him being. Or was it just that she'd become accustomed to the way everything was _colder_ in Zion and now she had to readjust to normal temperatures? Either way, she was more than happy to bury herself in his embrace as he leaned over her to examine the touchpanel on the wall.

'_That_ one, right?' The lights went out. 'All right, that one. Hurray my memory.' Laying his head back down on the pillow beside hers, he sighed. 'At least you get a window. All we've got downstairs are those plasma screens.'

'Rank has its privileges,' she mumbled, finally letting her eyes slide closed and welcome oblivion take her.


	30. Changing Fates

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: If you think this is cheesy then bully for you. I like happy endings. Big stirring music time.**

_Part 30- Changing Fates_

Six days later, however, oblivion was the furthest thing from Dena's mind. In fact mostly at the forefront was the fact that her dress uniform, formerly a perfect tailored fit, was now a little too big for her and the slightly overlarge collar was chafing at the nape of her neck. The only way she could account for her sudden weight loss was the sparseness of the Zion diet she'd been on for the past eight months, since her level of physical activity hadn't been substantially different from usual. She was also experiencing a definite craving for chocolate chip cookies, most probably because of long abstinence from her favourite treat, which did not at all suit the formality of the current proceedings. Fleet formal affairs were usually pleasant enough, if they were purely internal, but when the Congress got involved somehow everything turned stuffy and over flamboyant…

At the moment Congressman Gershin was giving a long and eloquent speech, addressed mainly to the former military personnel of Zion and their close families who were gathered on the upper balconies. Commander Pryce, who was sitting behind the speaker's podium on the platform along with Lock, the Zion Council, Fleet Admiral Greys and two other congressmen, was a veteran of Gershin's legendary speeches but nonetheless looked like he almost was starting to nod. Dena, seated with her squadron near the front of the rows of chairs assembled before the platform, was beginning to struggle to keep a straight face.

'…and so it is with glad heart that I present D-441 of Capella to the people of Zion, that they may hold it, prove it and treasure it in the same spirit with which it is given.' There was a smattering of polite applause from the gathered Fleet officers, bolstered considerably by the more enthusiastic clapping from the former Zionites on the balcony levels above. Gershin beamed at his audience. 'And now I believe Admiral Greys wishes to address us.'

He sat as Greys, an extremely tall and serious-looking man with black hair that was just beginning to acquire a tinge of natural grey at the temples, stood. Now Dena perked up a little, banishing the considerations of an itchy neck and a plateful of cookies to the back of her mind to pay attention to the admiral's words.

'Everyone in this room who was a schoolchild on any Coalition world has studied the Machine War in their history classes. It's something our scholars speculate about since we have so little information on the precise events that took place after the blackening of the Terran sky. It's something children write essays about, what young students might produce a dissertation on if they choose to specialise in ancient history at college. But in this room with us, ladies and gentlemen, are people who have not written essays or dissertations, have not studied or speculated about the war. They have lived it. In their minds many are _still_ living it. They have fought, they have seen friends and loved ones die, they have probably come close to death themselves. They have known what none of us really can claim to have experienced- conflict, hardship, fear for their very lives. Yet through all this they have survived, borne children, carved out a niche for themselves in the middle of a battleground on a dead planet. We all know this- this is why planet D-441 is now named Zion, why this haulier supership is even as we speak taking on board supplies and materials to begin a new colony on that planet with these remarkable people as its populace. However I must confess, despite the decision of the Congress and the jubilation this has no doubt caused…' he looked up from the podium for a moment and grinned openly at his audience '…I find this a tad annoying. Soldiers _this_ good, and they're being banished planetside on some new _colony_ world? It's a waste, a damn waste, and as the head of the Coalition's defence Fleet I think I'm fully justified in being as loud and annoyed about this as I intend to be later, after the recorders have gone off.' This prompted some laughter from the Fleet and Dena wanted to smack herself on the forehead. She should've known- Grey had risen through the ranks by cruiser and fighter captaincies. He wasn't any pencil-pushing ass shiner, not by a long stretch.

'However what _does_ give me pleasure,' Greys announced, more sombrely, 'Is to announce that a full and adaptable training crew are being transferred to the _Gormenghast_ with orders to improvise around the existing expertise of Zion's personnel and, with any luck, make Fleet out of some of 'em.' Glancing upwards slightly to address those on the balconies, he went on, 'I sincerely hope some of you choose to join us. Now, on a more celebratory rather than cantankerous note, I am very privileged to exercise one of the best parts of my authority today. The following personnel are to receive commendations for their performances during the evacuation-' he then read out a long list of names and reasons, which Dena was glad to note included 'Ensign Connor Galaway, for flying above and beyond the call of duty under exceptional circumstances.' That kid deserved to go far and fast. And he was fighter qualified…now there was something to consider, especially since Tom Derres in her squad was transferring out to go planetside after acquiring a strange desire to _settle down_, whatever that meant.

'It also gives me great pleasure,' Greys was now saying, 'To award the Celeste medal for courage under fire to Gunnery Lieutenant Louise Davis, currently attached to the Desperadoes fighter squadron.'

'All right, _go_ Lu!' Dena hissed, giving her friend a shove. Lu, grinning fit to split her face in two, strode up to the podium and threw a crisp salute as Greys attached the thumbprint-sized silver medallion to the breast pocket of her dress uniform while everyone clapped. She stuck her tongue out at Dena as she sauntered back to her seat. But Greys' face had taken a quite serious cast when he spoke again.

'Courage under hostile fire is never an easy situation. We have the better part of a quarter of a million people on this ship who can testify to that, and I respect and admire every one of them. But even more so I admire faith. Faith to carry on against all odds, to never lose sight of a goal despite having little real hope of achieving that goal- _conviction_, to not only get oneself out of a situation but to _change_ that entire situation for a whole and in this case very large number of others.' He stepped back from the podium slightly and looked up with a smile in his eyes. 'I am therefore _honoured_ to award the Utopia Planitia medal, for outstanding and exceptional performance under circumstances for which the label _trying_ is more than merely inadequate, to Captain Dena Reese, currently in command of the Desperadoes fighter squadron.'

'All right go _you_,' Lu said in an undertone as her captain stood up.

'Shut your damned mouth,' Dena hissed in reply as, blushing, she made her way up to the platform and threw her salute, keeping her eyes fixed on an indeterminate point in the middle distance as Greys fixed the medal to her uniform. Then, to her lasting mortification, he stepped back and saluted _her_, then insisted on shaking her hand before he let her return to her seat. By this time the clapping from her squad had risen to cheers and cat-calls that made her grin despite her embarrassment as she sat.

Greys gave out two more medals- one to Estalla, for the defensive work he'd headed up on the _Voltaire_, and one to Pryce for exceptional command of a more than difficult evacuation procedure, which made Dena feel a little better since the present officers of the two ships cheered and hooted at their respective commanding officers with traditional gay abandon. Then, surprising everyone, Greys relinquished the stand to Councillor Hamaan, of all people.

'Well I confess I'm a sucker for this kind of speech-making so I'm rather enamoured of this place already,' was Hamaan's opening line, which got an immediate laugh from the Fleet even if Gershin looked vaguely shocked- a politician with a sense of humour? Unheard of! 'However much as I would love to stand here on behalf of all Zion and rant on about our sheer gratefulness to the Fleet, the Congress, the entire Coalition, I do actually have something I wish to do instead.' Once the chuckling had died down he became serious. 'There is- was- only ever one medal in Zion. When a battle's still in progress you don't normally take time out for award ceremonies, but there have been two awarded in my lifetime. Given how old I obviously am, that should get across how rare it is.' More laughter, which died quickly. 'But there is occasionally some happening, some _feat_ by an individual that deserves to be held up on high for everyone to see.' He withdrew something from his robes and held it up- a narrow strip of thin blue-dyed Zion cloth with a single hammered piece of mostly circular metal attached to the end by means of a bored hole through which the cloth knotted. 'Made sure I brought this up with me. It's the Zion Star. Doesn't look like much, I know. But this one in particular means a lot, and not just because it's the last one that will ever be awarded.' He paused for impact. 'It means a lot because the person who I am going to give this to managed to change the world for quarter of a million people. I'd like to think that along the way, perhaps we managed to change the world a little for her too.'

_He means me_, Dena thought, feeling her eyes start to well up. _Oh, SHIT_.

'Of course when I say _I _am going to give this to, technically I'd be lying,' Hamaan added, looking at the battered medallion speculatively. 'Traditionally, Councillor Dillard handles this kind of thing.' He sighed with exaggerated wistfulness. 'I tried to arm-wrestle her out of it-' this again prompted some laughs '-as did quite a few other people, but I'm sorry to say I wasn't the man who won. Commander, as you _insist_?'

Lock rose, taking both the medal and the place at the podium as Hamaan sat down.

'I'm afraid _I_ don't have much of a head for speeches, so I'll cut to the chase,' he said simply. 'Captain Reese, I'm sorry to get you up again but as everyone knows, this is for you.'

Torn between blushing and openly weeping, Dena stood once more and managed to make it to the dais again, throwing another salute without thinking. Lock returned it and then fixed the makeshift medal next to the shining Utopia Planitia and her previous Celeste that she'd earned in the evacuation of the Solaris colony. Then he held out a hand and she dropped the salute to shake it, feeling more emotion through that contact than a whole conversation could ever hope to impart. She threw a final salute and then hastened back down, glancing up only to briefly notice that this time there were no cheers or cat-calls, even from her squad. Lu was applauding so hard her entire torso was moving, and the smile on her face was pure warmth. As she sat, Dena felt hands brush briefly against her shoulders- Ozzy, Blazzo, Red, Arron- and had to swallow convulsively against the unexpected knot in her throat as Greys once more took the stand. She felt a sudden, unexpected pang of regret that Niobe, Ghost and most especially Sparks weren't sitting near enough to her to share the moment with.

'We're almost done, for those whose buttocks can't stand much more,' he said, which she was grateful for as it immediately lightened the suddenly solemn mood. 'Now as we all know it's a little…unorthodox, to say the least, for non-Fleet personnel to receive Fleet commendations. But given the circumstances and the undoubtedly similar nature of their past duties, I and the rest of Fleet Command deem it suitable in these cases. Therefore the Radolphi Medal for services to humanity goes to the following former Zion officers- Desano, Zanzari, Gilligan, Mifune-' that made Dena add her voice to the cheering '- Ulysses, Horajon, and Commander Jason Lock.' Now the noise, especially from the balconies, was at ear-splitting level as one by one the blushing former Terrans came up to receive their medals. The first six were the heads of the major Zion defence corps- infantry, engineering, perimeter guard, APU and so forth. Dena privately thought that nobody deserved that medal more than Jason Lock and hoped that from now on any references to 'ol' Deadbolt' would be made with more affection than malice. The officers seemed to be sitting up near the back on the ground level so they must have been caught earlier and herded down there on the basis of being department heads, since from the bewildered looks on their faces they hadn't been given any prewarning. In fact Dena doubted that anyone except Greys, the Congress and very possibly Commander Pryce had known exactly what was going to happen at this particular awards ceremony.

'Lastly, to bring this to a close before we all lose our throats and get raw palms,' Greys said, 'I wish to award the Celeste Medal for courage under fire, water, vacuum, hull sealant, sentinel attacks and much else besides to the crew of the _Logos_, the gallant vessel to whom so many now owe so much.' Beaming, he read out the names without so much as a blink at their unusualness. 'Captain Niobe, first mate Ghost, and operator Sparks.'

'How in the hell-' Dena found herself muttering, but there was no mistaking the three figures that made their way somewhat sheepishly down the central aisle onto the platform. They were wearing the closest Zion equivalent to dress uniform, which amounted to a thicker knitted wraparound sweater; Niobe's the rich cranberry of ship captaincy, Ghost and Sparks' a deep navy blue. All three managed something of a salute but kept their heads down, trying to hide their faces in sheer embarrassment. Dena heard herself laugh, all melancholy dispersed as she felt like her heart would burst from her chest in delight and pride for her three friends, and she clapped and cheered just as loudly as the rest.

'Hey, Diz,' Lu leaned over to say in her ear. 'Tall one, spiky hair, nice shoulders?'

'What about him?'

'Your piece of ass, right?'

Dena nearly gave an outright guffaw as she contemplated Sparks' reaction to being called a piece of anybody's ass, but composed herself enough to reply.

'If that's how you want to put it, yeah.'

'Not bad,' Lu said. 'Can I borrow him?'

'Piss off, Lieutenant.'

'As you say, Captain.' Then she gave an impish grin and a wink. 'Can't blame a girl for trying.'

'Indeed,' Dena replied, then returned her concentration to applauding and laughing. The volume from the balconies rose higher and higher until it drowned out everything else, as the people of Zion paid tribute to the trio who had done the very nearly impossible and changed their people's fate forever.


	31. Epilogue

**Title: Rescue Run**

**Author: Lady Rheena**

**Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance**

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of _The Matrix_, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.**

**Chapter notes: Wow, we made it! Thanks for reading, everyone. LR x x x**

_Epilogue_

'Is that-'

'That's it.'

'Wurm! Over here, the viewer!'

'Oh my _god_…Neo, it's _green_!'

'And blue.'

'Blue sky, Lorri- like Earth was further up-'

'But we'll see it from the surface, all day and night…'

'Not at night, _dummy_, at night it'll be dark!'

'Is there a city down there? Where're we gonna live, mama?'

'We gotta build it first, that's what Teacher said, and we'll have to build gardens and stuff too, and a power plant-'

'What's the surface there like, mama?'

What it was that made Morpheus sense Dena's entry into the mess room and turn to approach her, she wasn't sure. He folded his arms and looked at her levelly, as if daring her to say something.

'So,' she drawled, 'Still believing in your prophecies, Morpheus?'

'Of course,' he replied simply. 'Now more than ever.'

She snorted, lost somewhere between disdain and incredulity.

'Have you never stopped to wonder, Captain, why it was that all three of your four engines on the _Mariposa_ failed on _that_ flight at the precise moment where your trajectory would cause you to land on the surface above Zion?'

'Faulty maintenance. Coincidence,' she said with a shrug.

'Perhaps.' His smile was oddly knowing, but it vanished before she had time to ponder the meaning behind it. She did, however, follow him to one of the empty viewers where green-blue Capella revolved gracefully beneath the _Gormenghast_'s newly-established orbit. 'Tell me, Captain, are you aware that the scanners on my former vessel were not equipped to detect body-heat signatures?'

'Well it's not like you were expecting to find live bodies in the tunnels, were you?'

Another small, deliberate smile.

'You asked me if I still hold my belief in the prophecy of the One who would save Zion and end the war, Captain. Did I never tell you who it was who spotted you on the ground in that tunnel?'

She stared at him. The smile was back.

'It was Neo.'

Then, with the self-assured air of one in a completely unassailable position, he crossed the room again to join his comrades in perusal of their new home.

_Finis_


End file.
